Adventure Time: The Chronicles of Aaa Season 1
by TaiylorWallace
Summary: Taiylor Wallace Presents: The Aaa Chronicles, the stories of Cake the Cat, Fionna the Human, Gumball the Candy Prince, and Marshall Lee the Vampire King. Rated T for blood and gore and possible language (it IS Marshall Lee). Season One: The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark. A Fiolee series, dotted with the flirtations and jealousy of Flame Prince and Prince Gumball.
1. The Bat, the Bunny, and the Treehouse P1

**Alternate Title: **_Evicted!_

_**(Note from the Author: Hey, guys! Welcome to the first real chapter, featuring the moment Fionna met Marshall Lee! Even though this chapter of the story is based on the idea presented by the Adventure Time episode of the same (alternate) title, it is not meant to be a gender-bender mirror. In my opinion, Marshall Lee would be far more brutal about kicking the duo out and keeping them out. Marceline is decidedly a bit softer than her male counterpart, though probably no less mischievous in my mind. Shall we, then?)**_

_**When a daring duo find an injured bat locked in a troll cave, Fionna only hopes she can help the little thing heal, until she wakes up to a pale boy and learns that 'Blackie' is not a bat at all!**_

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_Fionna! Fionna!_

Who was that...? And why did her head hurt so badly at the slightest sound around her? She could hear falling water and wind rustling the leaves in the trees... Trees? But wasn't she on the plains? _Oh..._ she remembered, _that's right... I got dragged into the forest by a globbin' troll._

_Fionna! Honey, answer me!_

Who that heck was that? ... Was it Cake? Yes, it was! It was her furry, brown-spotted adoptive cat sister! Fionna finally opened her eyes to see a circle formed above her by trees, the center opening up to clear blue sky with just one little puffy cloud passing by. It looked sort of like a bunny to her with golden streaks. Oh, wait. No, that was just her hair in her face. _Glob _did she hurt. She felt like her ribs had been kicked in and her legs torn off. She tried to sit up and look to see if that was true, but all she managed to do was twitch and groan.

"Caaaaaake," she moaned pitifully, and in moments she felt big furry paws wrap around her. Before she knew it, the world above her was moving and she was laid against a huge soft and furry mattress. Cake must've been carrying her after stretching out into a big bed with legs. Fionna simply closed her eyes and let herself be carried, eventually passing out. She'd sleep for a week like this, and not much to Cake's surprise, indeed Fionna did. But Cake also knew that Fionna would want revenge on that smelly old troll, so Cake spent the week tracking the beast between taking care of her sister. She didn't sleep a solid 24 hours a day, only waking up to eat and maybe even play a video game if she could focus. Cake figured out the pattern in two days so she'd be there when Fionna woke, and when she wasn't, just in case, Cake had Lord Monochromicorn keep watch over the duo's huge treehouse if Fionna needed anything.

When Fionna woke on the seventh day, finally feeling whole and refreshed, she practically skipped to the ladder that led down to the living room and kitchen, throwing together a messy sandwich before padding off outside to enjoy the sun and fresh air. But when she opened the door, she almost squeaked with surprise to see a familiar green-skinned troll with an eyepatch running across the plains pursued by a giant Cake. Fionna dropped her sandwich and reached inside the door to grab her crystal sword (made by her friend Prince Gumball after the nefarious and downright fruit-loopy Ice Queen gave her a fake one) before running off with a battlecry after them. Cake slowed down just enough to pick up Fionna and launched her at the beast. Fionna came down with a satisfying _wooooookush!_ of her blade slicing through the air and slashing to a hard stop right in the middle of the troll's skull. The beast collapsed and Fionna leapt at the last moment to roll safely to a stop. She smiled brightly, approaching to fetch her blade, but it was so far embedded in the thick troll skull that it took about five minutes of yanking before Cake offered to try. Frustrated, Fionna let go, and Cake pulled it out with a tiny wiggle and no problem.

"You gotta shimmy it a little, baby."

"Whatever, I totally loosened it for you."

"Uh-huh... well, anyway, we gotta go back to this big dummy's hidey-hole."

"Why? Is there... _treasure?!_" Fionna's eyes lit up. Hopefully there'd be a cool sword in there!

"No, it was just stinky old troll clothes and a club made out of a tree," Cake explained nonchalantly.

"Then why d'you wanna go back?"

"I think I heard something in there just before I chased him out. Like a screech or something. It might'a been just a rat, but I thought we should check it out. This fella's known for kidnapping defenseless candy people." Again, so nonchalant about something that made Fionna's eyes grow wide with determination and shock.

"Why didn't you say so before?! Come on!"

Fionna was gone like a streak of blue and white bunny ears across the plains, but a giant Cake just caught up in a few strides and picked her up, making up the distance to the troll's hole home on the edge of the plains near the forest in just minutes. Once there, Fionna immediately heard the screeching and she jumped from Cake's back and began rifling through the troll's home until she came upon a chest make entirely of red crystal. It was downright beautiful, but Fionna could faintly see a small form wriggling and struggling inside.

"Cake! It's in here!"

"Don't worry little candy-baby! Cake'll getcha outta there!" Cake came running and looked the chest over, trying to open it. It had no obvious lock so a key-hand wouldn't help. "I gotta smash it, honey."

"No! You'll hurt whoever's inside!"

"Just the top, I won't crush it."

"Okay… just be careful. Cover your head, little candy-dude!"

Cake's hands grew huge and she crushed just the lid of the crystal chest. The pieces shattered everywhere but did no noticeable harm, not that Fionna noticed when a black bat with weird messy hair on its head flopped out of the chest with a squeak and fell to the ground helplessly. Its right wing was shredded terribly and its little foot was mangled, and Fionna could see the evidence of dried blood on its tiny snout.

"Oh my Glob!" Fionna immediately knelt to pick the poor little creature up, but it hissed at her before simply passing out.

"The heck's a troll got a bat in a chest for?" Cake wondered with a raised eyebrow. "It looks kinda tasty."

"Cake!" Fionna gasped, picking up the injured little thing and holding it to her chest.

"What! It's a rat with wings, and I'm a cat!"

"No eating her! She needs help!"

"Ugh, fine… only if you make me a sandwich when we get home."

"Deal. I'll put extra tuna on it."

"Ooooh, baby! Let's go!"

The duo made their way out into the clear sunlight, but Fionna suddenly felt a sharp pain in her hand as the bat practically screamed in its unconsciousness and clenched her finger with its foot claws. She yelped and stepped back unknowingly into the shade, and it settled slowly. "Yikes, what was that about?"

"Don't you know bats hate the sun?"

"Oh… oh, man, I probably hurt her!" Fionna quickly pulled off her hat and her golden locks fell all around her before she wrapped the little black creature in the white, soft cloth so that the sun wouldn't get to him. They quickly made their way to the treehouse and Fionna laid the bat on the edge of her bed while she ran into their bathroom to get out their first aid kit. A few minutes later and the bat's leg had a tiny splint, its leathery wing was stitched back together by Cake, and its face and fur were all clean of blood and dirt. Fionna gently folded its wings up properly and laid it in her nightstand drawer in a little makeshift bed not unlike Cake's, made with a soft little pillow and a soft handtowel. She was sure to draw the curtains on the windows before she went down to make Cake her sandwich, as well as one for herself after she'd not gotten to finish her own. As an afterthought, she brought up a few strawberries for the bat, hoping he was a fruit bat.

Fionna spent all day watching over the little thing, playing quietly on BMO and glancing over at the bat every so often. Often enough that she'd screw up a boss fight or two thanks to being distracted. That night when she went to bed, she checked on the bat's stitches and leg. He still hadn't woken but he was still breathing fine. She decided he was too cold, though, and she ended up falling asleep with the creature cuddled into her chest for warmth, half-covered by her blanket. That night she swore she wouldn't roll over, not even if it was way more comfortable. Silently, Fionna also decided to name the little bat 'Blackie'.

During the night, she dreamt of the little thing shapeshifting into a tall, pale, boy, but she could only ever see his silhouette, and holes through his neck. She felt a weight settle over her that didn't go away, like a need so great to know who the pale boy was that it physically weighed her down. That was, until she woke and realized something actually was physically holding her down. Slowly her eyes opened and she was met with a messy mop of black hair and a pale face with peacefully-closed eyes and a thin mouth with the very tips of two fangs peeking out. The rest of his body was covered by her blanket. At that moment, Fionna did what any girl would do if she woke up to a strange boy laying in her bed, no less _on top of her._

"_HOLY GLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBB! GET OFFA ME YOU FREAKIN' WEIRDO! CAKE! CAAAAAAKE!"_

The boy stirred slowly at first, but when he finally registered the screaming, he jolted and much to Fionna's fear and surprise, he zoomed up to the ceiling with the blanket still draped around his shoulders and back. He was wearing ripped-up jeans and an equally-tattered grey tanktop, no shoes, and his arm was torn up something awful. One leg hung as if hurt, and there was a bad, cracking cut across the bridge of his nose. He looked just as stunned as she, if not more so, especially when Cake came charging in and grew huge and pulled him off the ceiling and pinned him to the floor. Fionna sat up in her red pajamas and stared at the boy in shock and fear, jumping when he hissed like a demon at Cake, but that hiss sounded familiar… His eyes grew huge and black with red pupils, but he was too weak to fight.

"Who the GLOB are you?!" Fionna demanded, sounding far more courageous than she felt.

"_LET GO OF ME YOU STUPID FURBALL!"_ The boy cried in a husky voice made high-pitched by panic and rage. He finally wrestled from Cake's grip and flew up high again, the blanket falling from his body. At one moment when he was in front of the window where, despite the thin curtain, the light shone through from sunrise, Fionna saw his silhouette and realized he was the boy from her dream.

"Who are you?! And what did you do with Blackie?!"

"Who the heck's Blackie?" He growled with a flash of his fangs.

"The bat I was taking care of! What'd you do with her! She was asleep with me last night, now she's gone!" But as Fionna cried out about how the bat was missing, the boy's face changed as if he realized what she was talking about, but it quickly turned into a smug frown as he crossed his arms. Even though his arm hurt like mad…

"You're lookin' at him."

"You're even creepier when you're awake! Now where is she?!"

"_Him_."

"_Her!_ She had long hair for a bat!"

"Doesn't mean _HE_ was a chick."

"Okay, if you're _him_ then prove it!"

"Done." The voice suddenly came from the little bat on the floor where the boy had just been floating above. Fionna froze. _Holy… Glob he's a bat-dude._

"O… kay…" Fiona half-whimpered and Cake finally cooled down and shrunk to her normal size.

"What the heck's a troll doin' with a bat-shifty-boy in a crystal chest?"

"He snuck up on me okay? Before I could do anything, he beat the snot out of me and I turned into my bat form to get away, but he caught me and locked me in a magical chest so he could eat me later. I don't remember much after the chest got smashed, I didn't even realize it was you guys."

"Oh, so… you're not like a creeper or anything."

"_No._"

"Why'd you suddenly change back into a human this morning?" Cake asked with a glare.

"Sometimes if I dream about changing form, it happens in my sleep. Nothing I can do about that."

"Oh… well… since you're Blackie-" Fionna began

"That's not my name," the boy growled with bared fangs.

"Well you didn't bother to tell us what it is!" Fionna threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"It's Marshall Lee."

"Okay, then, since you _were_ Blackie, it's okay. You got beat up pretty bad. You okay?"

"I'll be fine in a day or two."

"You've got a broken leg, boy, ain't no way you gonna be okay in two days."

"It'll be healed in four at the most."

"Psh, yeah right tough guy," Fionna teased, but then she noticed… in their few minutes of talking, the cut on the mysterious Marshall Lee's face had disappeared. He knew she noticed and gave her a smug smirk. "Oh… um… okay. Do you want us to help you get home?"

"You already did."

"What, do you live in the tree like the birds and the other bats?"

"No. This is my house. I was on my way home when the troll got me."

"No way!" Fionna protested hotly. "This is our place! It was all abandoned and junk when we moved in!"

"What can I say? I was gone for a long time."

"You can't just kick us out, dude!"

"Uh… the fact I own the deed to this place says I can."

"Can't we just buy it from you?" Fionna pleaded. "We've got more than enough!"

"Nah, I like this place too much, plus you guys already moved in all the furniture for me."

"Hold up, hold up," Cake intervened. "Listen here, boy. There ain't no way I'm lettin' you make my little baby sister homeless."

Marshall Lee snorted. "_Sister?"_

"Dang right, sister!" Fionna growled.

"Okay, then, _sister_, get your butts out of my house."

"But-!"

"_OUT."_ Marshall Lee suddenly roared at them, shifting into a massive demonic bat form that had the two making a mad dash down the ladder and out after Fionna quickly grabbed her pack and sword. They ran for the edge of the forest until Fionna fell over, still in her PJ's, flat on her face huffing and puffing before she groaned pitifully.

"Cake… where are we supposed to go now…?" Fionna whined, honestly quite upset by losing the best house an adventuress like her could ask for.

"I dunno, baby…" Cake sighed.

_Siiiiigh._ "C'mere and be a curtain so I can get dressed. I'm really glad I carry extra clothes in my bag." As her cat-sister formed a curtain all around her, Fionna quickly slipped out of her red PJ's and into her usual blue-shirt, dark-blue skort combo with thigh-high socks and black button-snap shoes before she tucked her wild blonde hair into her bunny-eared hat. "'Kay, I'm done…" When Cake shrunk back down to her normal size, Fionna hugged her tightly and felt a few tears come to her eyes.

"I know, honey. Come on, we'll find a place to stay til we get a place twice as poppin' as that dumb ol' treehouse."

"Yeah… okay…"

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_**Part Two coming ASAP! In fact, I'm working on it the moment I finish posting this! I hope you enjoyed, and please feel free to leave reviews for your favorite parts, suggestions, and your opinions!**_

_**-Taiylor Wallace**_


	2. The Bat, the Bunny, and the Treehouse P2

**Alternate Title:** _Un-Evicted!_

**_(A Note from the Author: This one's a tad shorter than part one, but I'm pretty proud of it! Enjoy, kiddos!)_**

**_After too long fending for themselves with no money, not enough food, and a fairly awful (and smelly) shelter, Fionna and Cake jump at the chance that a passing picnicker might share their food with the hungry duo, only to find that the guitar-playing basket-toter is the very last person either of them wants to see._**

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"Fi. Fi, baby, wake up."

"Uuuunnnngh…"

"Don't you groan at me, get off your girly butt and come help me find dinner."

"Ugh. Fine…" _Grrrgrgrgorogrgrorgr. _Fionna's stomach grumbled like an angry Cake who'd gotten caught in a rainstorm. What an awful nap… They hadn't eaten since the morning before, having spent the whole day and night running from a pack of wolves whose territory they'd come upon. Fionna finally rose from her makeshift bed of moss and leaves, brushing away crinkles of leaf and grass on her side.

Two weeks had passed since the mysterious shape-shifting bat-guy Marshall Lee had kicked them out of their treehouse. Well… _his _treehouse. They'd stopped in at the Candy Kingdom and found that there was a deed on record for the house under the name of 'Marshall L. Abadeer' and had been there since long before Prince Gumball was even born. That told Fionna and Cake that this Marshall Lee person was a lot older than the eighteen years he seemed to look. Cake simply reasoned that if he was a shapeshifter, he was a magical being with a long lifespan and didn't age as fast as most people. And in finding the deed, Fionna and Cake lost all hope of getting their super-rad treehouse base back.

They'd been searching for berries and hardly had enough to fill their hands after two hours, so they sat down to eat what they had and try to figure out what they could do. They'd taken shelter in a dead troll's home, the very same one that had imprisoned Marshall Lee and knocked the snot out of Fionna. It stunk something awful until Cake got rid of the dirty rags and piles of fish bones inside, then it became bearable enough to sleep in.

Sitting in a shady glade, the two tried to enjoy the berries and not wolf them down, but when Fionna got to the very last, best, reddest, and juiciest berry, she wanted to savor it. Before her teeth closed on it, it was suddenly pulled from her fingers and up into the air, where the color drained from it and it fell back into her lap. She was wide-eyed and would've been afraid if she wasn't so angry. She tried to eat it still, but it tasted awful, like rotting leaves and grass. She stood up quickly and Cake, who hadn't even noticed all of this, looked up in curiosity and then alarm when her sister suddenly yelled at thin air.

"_WHO THE GLOB DID THAT! WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FOOD, AND YOU GOTTA DO SOME JERKY THING LIKE THAT?!"_

"Fi, what-"

"_THEY STOLE THE LAST BERRY!"_

"… Who?"

"Like I know!" Fionna threw her hands up in the air and fell to her butt next to Cake with her head hung low.

"It was just one berry, sweetie…"

"I know, but… We haven't had enough to eat in two whole weeks since we lost all our money because of that bat-boy…"

"I know, Fi, but we're cat people, y'know? We can make it."

"I know… I guess I just miss the treehouse so much that everything else is setting me off."

"I'm sorry, ba-… what's that sound?"

"What?" Fionna looked up, and soon she could hear it too. It was a sweet melody, and she soon recognized it. "It's a guitar… who's playing a guitar in the middle of the woods?"

"Let's go see. Maybe they're havin' a picnic! Maybe they'll have extra food!"

"Heck yeah!" Fionna jumped up like she'd been charged full of electricity, and the two hurried toward the sound. What they found was half what they expected, and half what they hoped they'd never see again. There was a picnic basket, full of red apples, red berries, red candy… a lot of red. But above it floated the very shapeshifter that had put them into their current predicament, and he was strumming on a single-sided bloodred axe that had been converted into an electric guitar that seemed to play just fine without an amplifier. He wore a red, black-striped plaid shirt, long blue jeans, and red sneakers. His hair looked simultaneously as if he'd only bothered to run his fingers through it in lieu of brushing, and as if he'd spent hours styling it with a hairdryer. He was humming quietly to himself as he strummed out a sweet but almost sad melody that reminded Fionna of a cold, snowy night somehow.

"Marshall Lee?" She asked without thinking, and the shapeshifter opened his dark eyes, looking cooly over at them.

"Oh. Hey, uh…?" Fionna then realized he'd never even learned her name.

"Fionna the human. And Cake the cat."

"'Kay. What do you want?"

"Nothing…" Fionna mumbled. Cake took her hand to lead her away but Fionna wouldn't budge. She had something to say, but she couldn't figure out how to say it yet.

"Alright. So… shoo," Marshall Lee waved them off carelessly, and that made Fionna turn slightly pink with anger.

"You can't make us leave. It's not like you own the woods too."

"Actually… I kinda do."

"Psh, you're really a piece of work, ain't you?" Cake growled.

"Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal. Vampire King and all that," he flashed a fanged smirk and Cake's tail frizzed. Vampires? She was terrified of Vampires. And that explained why he could shift into that demonic bat form.

"Vampire King? So where's your kingdom, then?" Fionna challenged.

"Wherever I want it to be," he stated cooly, then added with a glance out of the corner of his eye at Fionna, "Which includes the forest right now. So, uh… shoo, little girl, and take your little fur-butt with you. You're jacking up my vibes."

"That's it!" Fionna suddenly took a flying leap at the vampire. He had been expecting a struggle, but not the crazy catlike leap she made at him intent to claw his face off. Then again, her sister _was_ a cat.

Marshall Lee was lucky for the guitar between himself and Fionna, so he had a shield to thrown her off with, but she whopped him a good one in the jaw before she fell and landed perfectly on her feet. She didn't give up, grabbing his foot and hanging on for dear life as he rose into the sky with a hiss. "Get off, little girl!"

"Make me, you fang-y jerk!

"Oh, I will," Marshall snarled and shot into the sky so high that Fionna clung to him for safety rather than to climb up and fight him. He flew in spirals until Fionna's grip slipped and she went flying (not quite so well) down into the forest. Thankfully Cake caught her in the form of a long-legged trampoline and Fionna used the bounce to streak back up into the air with her sword drawn. Blade and axe clashed and Fionna fell again to the Cake-trampoline, landing safely and staring up in fear as the vampiric youth shifted into his massive demonic bat form.

Fionna had never seen such a beast and it scared her, but it also challenged her. _C'mon, Fi, you kill trolls and giants for breakfast! A big ugly bat demon is nothing, even if he is a king!_ Cake flung her back into the sky, but this time, Marshall Lee caught her rather than trying to block her. Fionna was so shocked by being caught in such leathery huge hands that she lost her sword and it fell to the earth, striking point-down into the grass. Marshall Lee began to squeeze and Fionna yelped for her cat sister.

"_CAAAKE!"_

_"I'M COMIN' BABY SISTER!"_

The magical cat stretched up and up until she wrapped around the demon bat just as he had wrapped his hands around Fionna, and Cake squeezed until Marshall Lee felt weakness in his limbs and dropped Fionna out of the sky. She fell with a scream and it was all Cake could do to catch her with a stretched-out footpaw like a safety net. But that distraction cost Cake as Marshall Lee clawed at her face with one hand free. The two fell to earth and both returned to normal shape and size, panting heavily. Fionna pulled her sword from the ground and bolted to Marshall Lee, the point at his neck as he slowly opened his eyes. His axe guitar had fallen just out of reach, but he didn't feel like fighting anymore anyway.

"It's over, Marshall Lee!" Fionna roared with determination and fearless confidence. Marshall Lee was almost impressed.

"Yeah, I guess so," he answered with a sort of half-bored smile. Fionna was caught off-guard by such nonchalant behavior, until he flicked her sword out of her hand and pinned her to a nearby tree by her throat, a foot off the ground as he floated before her. Fionna gripped his arm for all she was worth, trying not to be hanged. He wasn't strangling her, but her body weight alone was enough to restrict her throat against his hand. Cake was passed out, and Fionna couldn't get the breath to cry out for her.

"C-Cake…" she rasped, but the cat didn't move.

"Listen up, little human, the treehouse is mine, fair and square. Even if there wasn't a deed, it'd still be mine because I'm the Vampire King and whatever I say is mine, is mine," Marshall Lee whispered menacingly as he drew closer and closer to the terrified girl.

"I… wasn't fighting… for the… treehouse…" she gasped. Marshall Lee raised a confused eyebrow.

"Then what the glob did we just fight about?"

"Honor," Fionna spoke the word she valued above all else as loudly as he constricted throat would let her. She thought she was hallucinating from lack of oxygen when she saw the vampire start to crack an amused smile, which turned into a fanged grin, then a chuckle, and then all-out belly laugh as he dropped her to her knees and she gasped for breath. He floated above her as if lounging on his back, his hands over his sides as he cracked up laughing at the recovering human below him. What was so globbing funny?!

"What… the heck… are you laughing at?" Fionna growled between breaths.

"You!" Marshall Lee snorted. "Honor! Man, I haven't laughed this hard in centuries at anything other than cowering candy freaks!"

Fionna finally lifted her head as she caught her breath, watching him as he descended before her and tossed a key into the grass in front of her. "Here."

"Wh-"

"It's the key to the treehouse. I'll get what I want out of it and go find another place."

"But… why?" Fionna looked up at him with the most confused and lost expression, so much so that he couldn't help a chuckle.

"What can I say, I like little kids who make me laugh. Later." He picked up his guitar axe and he was gone into the sky. Just like that, Fionna had her most favorite place in the world back, a home, a warm bed, money, food… She almost wanted to cry and laugh at the same time with the relief, the confusion, and the utter absurdity of it all. And maybe she'd get a chance to understand this Marshall Lee guy. Vampire King… that sounded kinda cool. And if he played guitar half as well as he fought, she would like to hear that.

_Pffft. Fionna, what the heck are you thinking? He almost killed you, he's the Vampire King, he's the strongest evil creature you've ever met, he kicked your butt and gave you back your house in the most insulting, belittling, weird and stupid way, and you want to hang out with him?!_

_Heck yeah I do!_

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_**Seems like something he'd do, right? Hah! Leave a review and let me know what you think, and the next chapter oughta be out soon! Toodles!**_

_**-Taiylor Wallace**_


	3. Goodie Two-Shoes

_**It's not like Marshall Lee to seek entertainment from others beyond scaring the snot out of people for his own enjoyment, but when it comes to Fionna, he sees that she's got a lot more entertaining things about her than he first thought.**_

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Marshall Lee awoke with a deep yawn and a long, comfortable stretch before he slowly sat up in his soft bed, the blanket sliding down his bare chest and pooling around his waist. He always slept in just black boxers, but he'd managed to fall asleep that day in his jeans while playing his guitar late into the morning. He'd struck on a nice sort of crooner tune, but he couldn't come up with words for it. He looked around slowly, taking in the sight of his old room. He'd owned the treehouse and this pink-sided, brown-roofed cave house for at least a century. He'd built both of them and rebuilt them a couple times, but he much preferred the house in the massive cave near Red Rock Pass. It wasn't too far from his favorite haunts. Quite literally. Being only a short flight from the Candy Kingdom to the east, the mountains to the west, and the plains to the southeast. He also enjoyed seeing what that weird little adventuress and her cat were up to sometimes. Mostly hero stuff.

He sat up with a sigh, glancing to his window which faced the cave's southerly exit. It was nice, since the sun never shone into the cave and windows at any time of day. He judged the pink blush on the horizon to be the setting of dusk, so he took his time in pulling on his grey plaid shirt and a clean pair of jeans and his black pointed shoes. He felt like being a little more stylish, but it wasn't like anyone would see him. He walked into his bathroom, and for about the millionth time since he'd moved back into his little house, he wondered why the heck he had a mirror, and why he'd even bought it in the first place. It wasn't like he could see himself. The only thing that could reflect him was water, and he still hadn't figured that one out yet. He spent about ten minutes brushing his hair until it was just right, then he messed it up and clawed it into place with his fingers so he'd achieved his usual look, then he made his way down the ladder from his room to his living room, guitar in hand. He lounged in the air inches above the couch, replaying the tune he'd come up with that morning, humming along, but still no words would come.

Eventually he abandoned the guitar on the couch and fetched a bowl of red berries and an apple from his fridge. Even though apples were his favorite, he had been addicted to strawberries for about three decades after not having liked them much his whole life. Maybe they'd just gotten better with time. Quietly, he sucked the red from the berries, even munched properly on a couple, and he left the colorless fruit behind to use as compost for his plants around the house. He might've been a vicious creature of the night, but he could appreciate a little green to liven up his home. He gladly welcomed his white long-haired cat Schwable onto his lap as he lost himself in thought. What would he do that night? Terrorizing candy people was getting boring, and he couldn't get the tune out of his head from his guitar to play anything else… perhaps a little visit to his squatters at the treehouse?

"What d'you think Schwable? Should I visit the bunny-girl and her cat?"

The perfectly-normal looking white cat stretched luxuriously and added a tiny 'mew' at the end. Marshall Lee chuckled and scratched her ears lightly. "You're some help. Y'know, you're lucky you're cute for a zombie." He set her down on the couch before floating lazily to the kitchen again to set out her food- usually comprised of some kibble and whatever red meat he'd sucked the color out of. She seemed to enjoy the colorless stuff more, maybe because it tasted rotten and she was a zombie-cat.

By the time he finished putzing around doing pretty much nothing, it was just past twilight. He made his way out toward the plains, and it wasn't a half hour before he came upon the treehouse and found all the lights still on. _Sure,_ he figured,_ it's only just after sunset. Knowing a kid like her, she'll sleep all morning and wake up way past noon._ He flew up to their living room window, spying as Cake and Fionna climbed all over each other trying to distract the other while they competed in a video game on a little green computer-thing that Marshall Lee had learned was called BMO after his nights of spying. He knew they'd think it was creepy if they knew, but it was pretty normal for him by now, just part of keeping himself entertained in his eternal life. Stuff got boring pretty quick when you'd lived for a thousand years. You'd seen it all after a century. But Marshall Lee had never met anyone like Fionna, not even the bravest of warriors that had challenged him and died in the past. She was different, somehow. He just wasn't sure how at the moment.

Finally, he flew up to where a boat sat on a branch with an umbrella over top, and he floated just above the umbrella, strumming the tune he couldn't get out of his head on his guitar. Maybe if he kept playing, he'd get bored and it'd either go away or expand into a real song. Right?

He wasn't sure how long he was playing, nor did he realize how loudly he played, until he heard a door open and shut below him, and soon white bunny ears appeared at the edge of the boat, followed by a long tuft of blonde hair and a quizzical expression that grew curious as Fionna climbed into the boat and stood below Marshall Lee, watching him.

"What?" Marshall asked with a glance out of the corner of one eye at her.

"You're playing your guitar on our roof."

"Yeah."

"In the middle of the night."

"Yep."

"Why?"

"'Cuz I can."

"Says who, Mr. Vampire King?"

"Says the Mr. Vampire King you're talkin' to."

"I still say you're a real wad."

"And I say you talk awfully big for a little goody-two shoes who got her butt handed to her."

Fionna huffed impatiently and Marshall Lee smirked. "What d'you want?"

"Who said I wanted anything? I'm just jamming."

"Okay, then what's the song called?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't have to like you to like music. What's it called?"

"… I dunno yet. I don't have any lyrics for it."

"Are you gonna make up any?"

"Maybe."

"Okay." Fionna took a seat on the bench in the boat and stared up at him attentively until he finally looked down at her and stopped playing.

"What?"

"I'm just listening."

"You're killing my vibes, man," he grunted before he picked the tune up again.

"Okay, how about this?" Then Marshall Lee got a big surprise that made him smile, when Fionna began a slow rhythm of beatboxing to the tune.

"Whoa, whoa, hold up, girly. You can beatbox?" He stopped again and faced her fully, sitting up in his floating position.

"Don't call me 'girly'. And yeah, I'm okay at it."

"That's awesome," Marshall Lee declared a little more excitedly than his usual 'I-don't-care-about-anything-in-the-world' attitude normally allowed.

"You think so?" Fionna blushed lightly at the unexpected praise.

"Totally. Hey, give me good fast beat, 'kay?"

"Uh… sure." Fionna shrugged with a smile and picked up a quick beat that she could dance to, and Marshall Lee struck up a few chords before finding what he wanted with a fanged smirk of gladness. Finally, he was out of the rut of that slow tune. He began to improvise until he found a proper musical theme to the song, and then the words flowed the way they usually did, unabated and awesome to his ears and those around him.

_"Runnin' around like everyone's pet,_

_Haven't you figured it out yet?_

_You're just a goo-oo-oo-die two-shoes!"_

"Hey!" Fionna stopped beatboxing, but Marshall Lee kept playing and she took his invitation to throw in her own bit. He was sure she couldn't improvise, but she showed him just how wrong he was.

_"Flyin' around like you're too good to care,_

_Marshall Lee, are you even aware?_

_You're just a ba-aa-aa-die two-shoes!"_

Marshall Lee found himself laughing and she picked up the beat again, motioning for him to continue.

_Even though that's true,_

_Little girl, I tell you,_

_I may be bad, but damn I'm good._

_That's right, little honey bunny,_

_Even if you think it's funny,_

_I may be bad, but damn I'm gooooood!_

Even if it was short and sweet, when the two finished at the same time they both burst out laughing not only at each other, but themselves. Marshall Lee had never made such a ridiculous snippet, and Fionna had never done much improvising when it came to music, but they'd boht loved it.

"Hey, you know what?" Fionna spoke up as they both quieted with smiles on their faces.

"Hey, no, I don't. What?" Marshall answered with a grin as he turned upside down to look at her.

"You're not so bad, Blackie."

"Not so bad? Hah!" Marshall Lee snorted. "I'm the Vampire King, bunny!"

"Don't call me bunny," Fionna pouted but couldn't help a smile.

"Then don't call me Blackie, I'm not a bat," he teased.

"You were."

"Psh. Anyway, I wanna ask you something," he turned right-side up, and though he didn't mean for it, a softer smile came to his features.

"Uh… yeah?" Fionna asked quietly, wondering what the vampire could possibly ask of her.

"I'm getting a little stale on my own in the music department. You wanna get together and, y'know, jam sometime?"

"_DON'T YOU DARE BE ASKIN' MY BABY SISTER ON A DATE!"_

_"CAKE!"_ Fionna had never blushed so hard in her life.

"I'm not asking her on a date, furball, I'm asking her to come and play a freakin' jam session!" Marshall Lee yelled back, and he nearly snorted in laughter when the cat's brown and white ears and slitted eyes poked up above the edge of the boat, glaring him down. "So what d'you say, Fionna?" Marshall looked back to the red-faced blonde.

"I can't play anything really…"

"You can beatbox, and you can obviously sing, that's plenty."

"Okay… but on one condition."

"Oh, boy…"

"You have to teach me to play something."

"Oh. Alright. Sure."

"What?"

"What, what?"

"What'd you think I was gonna ask?"

Marshall then flashed her a smirk, "I thought you were gonna ask if kitty-cat could come with you. That's a deal-breaker."

"Like Glob I ain't comin'! Someone's gotta keep your clammy hands off her!"

"Psh, like I _wanna_ do that."

"What? She ain't good enough for you?!"

"Oh, Glob…" Fionna sighed and put her head down as the two shot snide comments back and forth over her. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

_**Huzzah! I love dialogue, leaving the reader to imagine the situation and whatnot. I wish I could give you guys a tune for the song, but hey, half the fun is your IMAGINATION *rainbow*.**_

_**-Taiylor Wallace**_


	4. Through the Fire and the Flames

**_(A Note from the Author: Hey, ya'll, how ya liking the stories so far? This particular chapter is my own take on something that hasn't really appeared in Adventure Time yet beyond 'Incendium', if I remember the title correctly, especially considering that Flame Prince's only appearance thus far has been for a few seconds in 'The Prince Who Wanted Everything'. I hope you enjoy my view of him, and also, I hope you like my name choice. It's a fairly popular choice from what I understand, and inspired by the writing of Twintaileddragon.)_**

_**After a fairly disappointing mission to retrieve the broken and rusted Sword of the Well, Fionna and Cake are suddenly called to combat a fire in the Candy Kingdom that has spread to almost everything but the palace itself. And while they do their best to aid the candy people and Prince Gumball, they come across a lone fire-sprite boy who simply wanted to hide to avoid the wrath of his paranoid mother, the Fire Queen.**_

* * *

Returning home from a long and fruitless trek across the grasslands to find a stupid 'magical' rock that only led to a muddy hole with a rusty old sword in it, Fionna flopped down on the sofa, completely disappointed and exasperated. Prince Gumball had assured her the sword was an ancient weapon from just after the Mushroom War that had been used to slay the remaining evil war criminals. It had been made magical by spilling the blood of a mutated water monster who rose from the depths of underground rivers after the war. But when Fionna and Cake had finally found it under the huge boulder (which was no small feat to move, it was a rusted and broken piece of junk. The only good thing about it was a shimmering marble-like jewel in the hilt that looked like an ocean of stars was trapped inside. Fionna had brought it back just for that, but intended to simply toss the broken pieces after she managed to get the marble jewel out.

Cake came up to rub her back comfortingly. "It's okay, Fi. At least now we can say we have the Sword of the Well."

"But it's completely useless! Gumball said it was all magical and stuff, and it didn't do a thing!"

"Maybe we just don't know the spells."

"I guess… maybe he has some book in that big ol' library about it."

"I bet-" But Cake was interrupted by a frantic knocking at the front door. Cake hurried down to get it, where a banana guard nearly jumped on her and screeched in alarm.

"The Kingdom! It's on fire! We can't put it out!"

"_FIONNA!"_

_"ON IT!"_ The duo left the banana guard in the dust, but nearly halfway there, Fionna realized she hadn't brought her sword. She only had the broken pieces of the Sword of the Well in her backpack. The hilt with the rusty edge would have to do, there was no time to waste! They arrived in the gates to see most of the city ablaze. The only place not completely engulfed was the palace because everyone was focusing their efforts on it. If the palace fell, they'd have no place to base their rebuilding efforts from. The usually-quite-reserved Prince Gumball was taking charge like the true leader he was, calling out orders and helping distribute buckets to the candy people.

"Pour it around the edges of the palace so the fire doesn't spread! Keep yourselves cool and wet so you don't get burned! Be careful, please! Homes can be rebuilt, but people cannot!" He made sure they didn't take any unnecessary risks, and though the situation was dire, he was level-headed, strong, and graceful. Fionna looked on with a small blush. He was pretty handsome when he took charge and wasn't that slightly-pompous and too-polite pink prince. He'd given up his jacket, soaked in water, to a small child to keep her safe, and he too was soaked to the bone to reduce the chance of burning. Fionna found that heroic, selfless Gumball a little… attractive. But she quickly shook such thoughts away and joined his side. Cake was off to the nearby river to gather all the water she could in the form of a giant basin, and Fionna was digging through her bag to find anything to help. But when the pieces of the Well Sword fell out, Fionna suddenly saw a puddle form around them and Gumball looked down.

"You have the Sword of the Well! Oh, thank merciful Glob! Quickly, put it together and use it!"

"How?!" Fionna looked up at him quickly. Surely a broken sword was useless.

"Wet the pieces and put them together, then just shout 'water' as loudly as you can!"

Fionna, despite serious doubts, immediately did as he said and fetched a bucket to dunk the pieces in. Much to her surprise, the pieces stuck together like they'd been forged back together in fire, but she didn't question it. Each piece added on made the rust fall away, until it was suddenly whole and shone like the light of the moon. The marble gem began to glow and Fionna saw the starry interior turn into water with silvery bubbles. She wasted no time in lifting it to the sky.

"_WATER!"_ She cried at the top of her lungs, and suddenly a flow of water like a small river shot from the hilt of the sword, the blade directing it up. Gumball quickly grabbed her arm and directed the flow at nearby burning houses, and the torrent snuffed the flames out with pure ease. Fionna ran through the streets with the veritable fire hose of a sword until she came to a halt, panting and saw only smouldering and smoke all around her. Cake had done one section of the city herself, but Fionna had taken care of the rest. As the water flow slowly subsided to nothing, Fionna heard a loud thump and a very dull thud behind her. Turning around quickly, she saw a broken door that had fallen out of its arch, and on it lay an entirely blue young man with a red crystal in his forehead. His body was smoking, and Fionna immediately assumed he'd been burned so she ran to him and dragged him out into the street before getting a bucket of water to pour over him. His eyes slowly opened and he groaned weakly, lifting a hand to try to stop her.

"Fionna! Fionna, no! That's a fire sprite!" Gumball called as he came running, and Fionna immediately threw the bucket aside. The fire-boy passed out and Gumball slid to a halt beside Fionna. "He must've caused the fire… and when you put it out, it must've nearly killed him..."

"Oh glob!" Fionna gasped. "You mean I hurt an innocent dude?!"

"Not entirely… I think I know who he is… he must be the Flame Prince of the Fire Kingdom. The Fire Royals are evil as they come. He must've been sent to burn down the Candy Kingdom."

"So… why don't I just dump water on him and finish it?" Fionna asked in confusion.

"We have to be sure of his reasons. We can't charge someone without hearing their side… but he's going to get his flame back with plenty of rest, so he needs to be put somewhere safe that won't burn. Maybe underground."

"What about Marshall Lee's cave?" Fionna offered, and Gumball grimaced at the suggestion.

"I'm… not so sure he'd like that. Besides, I wouldn't trust Marshall Lee not to free him just for kicks."

"He won't, I promise!" Fionna then turned to call for her cat sister, and Cake came hurrying along. "No time to explain! We gotta get this dude to Marshall Lee's place before he gets all fiery again!"

"Ain' no way I'm lettin' him singe my fur!"

"I may have a fireproof blanket you can wrap him up in," Gumball offered before going to find Peppermint Maid. Before Fionna knew it, they arrived at Marshall Lee's house with a large Cake carrying the Flame Prince. Fionna had brought chains and shackles from the Candy Kingdom to make sure the fire spirit stayed in place. She was just chaining him up as Cake laid him down in a flat spot and Fionna hammered metal stakes into the rocks for the chains to attach to and hold Flame Prince in place, when Marshall Lee appeared from his home looking dead-tired and annoyed.

"What the heck, Fionna, keep it down!" He growled until he saw what she was doing. "Whoa, who's that?"

"His name's Flame Prince!" Fionna called back while still hammering the stakes in with a mallet lent to her by Gumball.

"Okaaaay… and you're chaining him up behind my house… why, exactly?"

"He needs to be in a safe place until we figure out why he almost burnt the Candy Kingdom down!"

Marshall Lee's expression grew entirely unimpressed and a little angry. "So… of all the holes and caves in Aaa, you picked _my _place? You know he _can_ burn my house down, right?"

"Yeah but it's just one house, and besides, can't reach it."

"That's not the point, kid! It's my _house!_ Where am I supposed to stay if he flames it up?!"

"Well, you could stay at the treehouse til we fix it. It's kinda your house anyway."

"Okay, uh, no. Get him outta here."

"But Marshall-"

"I said out!"

"Uggnnngh…" The soft and painful groan of the slowly-reigniting Flame Prince caused them all to pause and stare as the fiery royal sat up. His blue color faded to fiery reds and oranges and he lifted a hand to his forehead before opening his eyes. He froze at seeing Fionna and he bolted to his feet, flames growing large around his hands. "You! You tried to kill me!"

"No way! I didn't know you were even there, dude!" Fionna insisted as she faced him, her hand ready to grab the Well Sword if he tried to hurt her or her friends.

"Chill, Torchy," Marshall grunted, and received a deadly glare from the prince.

"Torcho is my cousin! I am Ignatius!" The Flame Prince snarled.

"Ignatius, whatever. Just cool your jets."

"How dare you speak to me that way!"

"Hold up, hold up!" Cake quickly intervened. "You ain' helpin', Marshall Lee. Now, listen here, Your Royal Flamey-ness, we found you in the Candy Kingdom after we finished puttin' out all the fires you caused! All we wanna know is why you set everything all burnin' up!"

"I was hiding from my pursuers in a house, I didn't realize it would catch fire," the Flame Prince explained as he began to calm and slowly stood up straight, out of battle-stance.

"Pursuers?" Marshall Lee raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Fire soldiers from my mother's kingdom. You see, my mother has been hunting me ever since she learned I was alive."

"Whoa, whoa," Fionna raised her hands to stop him. "Start from the beginning, okay? Like why we've never heard of a Fire Kingdom Prince til now."

"Alright… if you really want such an in-depth story-"

"I'm out," Marshall sighed and retreated back into him home. Flame Prince huffed angrily before turning to Fionna, who seemed to actually want to listen.

"When I was just a small tyke, my mother realized I would be more powerful than she ever would be, so to make sure I never overthrew her, she had a servant 'dispose' of me. But that servant took pity, and took me out into the fire savannas where she managed to get a pride of Fire Lions to take me in. I grew up with them, but then my mother captured me when I was fourteen and locked me in a lamp in the palace. I escaped after three years of solitude, and I've been running now for nearly another whole year."

"Wow… that's so… sad," Fionna admitted softly, feeling a deep tug of pity in her heart for this abused Prince.

"I can't go back to the Fire Lions, she'd find me there… elsewise I'd be happy to continue that simple existence… She probably killed my mother, though."

"Mother?"

"The Fire Lioness who raised me."

Cake and Fionna looked at each other. They knew what it was like to lose parents. They were technically orphans, their cat parents having passed away and Fionna never having known her real parents. "Listen, Flame Prince-" Fionna began.

"Ignatius. Please," he added the polite word on, feeling that this girl was good and deserved some respect.

"Ignatius… I'm gonna tell Prince Gumball why you were there and we're gonna figure this out. You don't have to stay chained up and junk." Fionna stepped forward to take off his shackles, but she forgot the one important detail; he was made of fire. She leapt back with a yelp when her fingers burned and the Flame Prince jumped in surprise.

"What? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, still a little startled.

"Yeah…! Uh, yeah, I just, uh… burned myself…" Fionna answered quietly, nursing her burnt fingers. "Here," she decided to toss the key to him and he unlocked the shackles himself.

"Thank you, miss…?" He gave her a smile that made Fionna blush, offering for her to speak her name

"It's… um…" Fionna suddenly forgot her name. _Stupid!_

"Fionna the Human," Cake spoke up for her.

"Fionna the Human. And you…?" He looked to the cat with a kind smile. He liked her. She was sassy.

"Cake the Cat, baby, and don't you forget it!" Cake answered with a triumphant smile.

"Cake the Cat and Fionna the Human. I surely won't forget such pretty names. Thank you both, really, but I must go before my mother's soldiers catch up to me." He began to make his way past them when Fionna finally found her voice again.

"Hey, wait! If you need help or anything, yknow… we live in a treehouse on the plains near the Candy Kingdom, you can come there and get us!"

"Just don't touch the tree," Cake added.

"Cake!" Fionna snapped, embarrassed of her sister.

"Of course. Thank you again, both of you," the Flame Prince smiled once more before making his way out and disappearing from the cave.

"… You blushin', girl?"

"No!" Fionna quickly hid her face.

"He _is _kinda cute."

"Cake, we are _not _talking about this!"

"Especially that spiky red hair. And, ooooh, that toned chest!"

_"Cake!"_

Marshall Lee snorted to himself, listening to the two from his bedroom, the window cracked enough to hear them. It was so easy to make Fionna blush, but he didn't really like it that she was blushing over some pyro-boy. Then, Marshall Lee caught himself. What did he care?

_Oh, _ he thought to himself,_ that's right. I don't._

* * *

**_I personally really enjoy Flame Prince, or Ignatius as I call him. He's a fun character whose background I only know from a snippet of Adventure Time comics as a feral child living with Fire Lions. I made his past rather sad like Flame Princess, but his is much more wild and, decidedly, graceful and animalistic as a fourteen-year member of a Fire Lion Pride, whereas she was trapped in a lamp most of her life and probably would've been taught to be more proper despite all the rage and whatnot. I think my Flame Prince will come to be a veritable Tarzan of sorts, with the finesse of a Prince and the survival skills of Bear Grylls. Leave me a review to let me know what you think!_**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**


	5. Dungeon of Doors P1

**_On a seemingly-normal day of adventure, Fionna and Cake enter the Dungeon of Doors after their third companion doesn't show up, but once they are deep inside, they realize that entering without him could mean their deaths or eternal imprisonment._**

* * *

With a small yawn, the white-furred feline stretched out and arched her back before hopping down from the red couch where she'd taken her nap. She glanced around- her owner still wasn't up, and it was already sunset- before walking to the foot of the ladder that led up to the Vampire King's bedroom. She let out a _meow_ and sat down, waiting for some evidence of an answer. With another _mrrrowww_ she heard him stir and groan for her to leave him alone. _Mreooooww!_

"Alright…! Alright, jeez, Schwable…" Marshall Lee grumbled and threw his blankets lazily aside. After rubbing his tired eyes, he glanced out the window and saw it was already almost completely dark. He'd stayed up almost til noon that day, trying to work out the tune that had been stuck in his head for days. It was like what a crooner might sing to, maybe the slightest bit smooth jazz, but Marshall Lee just couldn't put his finger on what it was supposed to be. Still, no lyrics would come to him. Slowly but surely, Marshall Lee pushed the frustrating tune to the back of his mind and flew slowly down the ladder to the living room, plucking Schwable up from the floor and letting her lay on his stomach as he lounged back in mid-ar.

"What'd you wake me up for, kitty-cat?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Mroww," the cat answered, looking to the calendar he kept on the wall. Marshall Lee followed her gaze and his dark eyes grew wide.

"Oh Glob!" He sat forward suddenly, and thankfully Schwable had seemed to expect it, landing perfectly on her little paws and striding toward the kitchen as if she, unlike Marshall Lee, had all the time in the world. He was like a blur as he zoomed around the house to get his guitar, get dressed, feed his cat, and he nearly ran into the door on his way out. He locked it behind him and exploded into the night sky off toward the woods.

He found the massive oak tree that he was supposed to meet Fionna at, but found only a trace that she'd been there in the form of a discarded apple core. He mentally kicked himself for having stayed up so late; now he was at least two hours late to meet Fionna and Cake! Even though he'd normally be so relaxed about something like that, this particular mission was important. Marshall Lee had asked them to come with him into the Dungeon of Doors because he needed a group of three to make it through the dungeon. He figured Fionna and Cake could probably do it alone with Cake's stretchy powers, but he wanted to get to the end of the dungeon to retrieve what was said to be a magical instrument with the ability to summon the winds of the world. If there was anything Marshall Lee was boundlessly interested in, it was music and magic.

* * *

"Oh, Glob, Cake, this is bad! This is so bad!" Fionna cried as she tried her best to cling to the wall as the edge beneath her grew thinner and thinner. Below her was nothing but a dark pit, and above her was fire filling the tunnels they'd come from, so she couldn't risk jumping back up.

"Hold on, baby!" Cake cried out from the tiny nook she'd wedged herself in. Her arms stretched out to catch Fionna just as she fell, and Fionna let out a scream until she suddenly realized, she wasn't falling. Both looked down, seeing Fionna was seemingly floating over the pit as if standing on an invisible floor. Fionna dared to take a step, then a second, until she came to her sister's arms and huddled in the little nook. She picked up a piece of stone chipped from the wall and tossed it out into the pit, but it simply fell through. Fionna gulped to see it fall until it was lost from sight.

"Okay…" She took in a deep breath. "Now what?"

"There's supposed t'be a hidden door in- Oh! There it is!" Cake had managed to hit some kind of invisible panel, opening up the back of the nook to a bright, golden room that turned out to be an endless grassy plain dotted with flowers. Fionna stepped out with a sigh, looking all around. They certainly weren't outside, so she just chalked it up to magic. Cake entered too, and when they turned around, they couldn't see where they'd come from. Neither considered this an issue, and they made their way on.

"I wonder why Marshall didn't show up…" Fionna wondered aloud. Cake rolled her eyes.

"There you go again, worryin' about bat-boy. You know he said we could probably do it ourselves, so I bet he got lazy and decided not to come."

"No… he was really interested in whatever's at the end. Besides, I think as much as he tries to be all 'Mr. I-Don't-Give-A-Floop-'Cuz-I'm-Bad', he likes going on these adventures with us. I mean, the fact he hangs around the treehouse sometimes, waiting for me to come out and tell him what we did that day has to be proof enough."

"I think he's just bored. A thousand years can do that to you."

"Like you know."

"Hey, I ain't even a whole century old and I'm already bored half the time."

"You're not even a half-century old."

"Dang right I ain't. Ladies don't reveal their age, girl. So I'll stay eighteen forever."

Fionna only giggled at her sister and they made their way on. They were walking for nearly an hour before Fionna finally stopped, realizing they were never getting any closer to the red cluster of flowers on the horizon that she'd been focusing on, thinking _let's just get that far and we can take a break._

"What?" Cake looked up at her sister.

"We haven't moved…"

"We've been walking forever, honey, of course we moved."

"No, look. See those red flowers? I'll race you to them." Fionna was off like a shot, hoping the speed would break through whatever magic was holding them, and Cake was off right behind her until they were neck and neck. They both focused on the red flowers, but Cake stopped when she realized Fionna was right, and Fionna paused a little bit ahead of her.

"We can't move forward?" Fionna questioned, entirely bewildered.

"No, but… I think we can move away from each other. Stay there!" Cake started walking backwards until Fionna was far away, and she felt something soft brush her ankles. It was the flowers! "Come on I think we got it!"

Fionna joined her sister, the spell seemingly overcome, but the moment they were both standing among the flowers, the ground gave way and they fell into a dark pit with only the golden light shining in from above. All around them stood stone doors. Fionna counted nine in all. She went to one and tried to push it open and Cake did the same with another. Fionna pushed and pushed until she was out of breath and slid down the door. She turned to look to Cake for help, but saw the cat looking up at something. Fionna squinted at the tarnished silver letters and read, 'The doors in three you must see, or else it is the end for thee.' Fionna huffed, _Why did they always have to rhyme the riddles? Dumbwads._ But she gasped as the hole in the ceiling closed up of its own accord, throwing them into darkness except for an eerie glow from the arches of the doors.

"Threes? But…" Fionna looked to Cake, and they both realized they were stuck.

"Let me try somethin'! Push on your door!" Cake called over to her. Fionna set her back to the door and pushed with all the might her legs could supply, watching as Cake stretched out and tried to push on two doors at once. Her idea was sound, but the magicks were too well-spun to allow it. The word 'three' blazed silver, and all of the doors caught fire, forcing Cake and Fionna to jump away. Once they had, the fires died and the 'three' shone as if the silver had a light inside of it.

"We're trapped…" Fionna murmured, looking to Cake as she tried to knock through the ceiling by stretching up to it and punching it. All she got were sore paws, and the two flopped down back-to-back, staring at the doors and realizing they'd made a grave mistake in coming without Marshall Lee. And even though Fionna would normally laugh at a pun like that, she couldn't even crack a smile.

* * *

Marshall Lee had just managed to dodge through the gauntlet of swinging axes when he came to a large pit in the floor. He'd made it this far so easily and quickly because Fionna and Cake had broken most of the traps already and killed any monsters. He looked down at the pit and raised an eyebrow. Fionna and Cake could stretch to the little nook below with no problem, what was so dangerous-

Then his foot landed on the floor and he heard a click. _Oh, sh-_ Fire exploded out at him and the only way to avoid it was to jump into the pit. With his flight, he easily made it to the nook, but his first thought was to reach up and check his hair. The tips were singed, but it was okay. He turned to look around the nook and he could see the hidden panel right away. He kicked it and the back of the nook opened up to a golden field with flowers. He already knew by looking at it that there was some weird spell about it that he'd have to outsmart. He'd been around too long not to have run into things like this several times. He floated his way out into the field, not even bothering to look back to know his exit had sealed. _Typical._

He looked around until a particular patch of red flowers caught his eye. They were the only red flowers and they were in an unusually large cluster. So, he began making his way toward them. It only took him a couple minutes to figure out the spell, so he sighed and just shifted into his giant bat form. With huge claws, he ripped up the ground to use as a landmark. Once he'd done that, he shifted back and floated backwards with his eyes on the torn-up mound of dirt and grass. As soon as he saw the red flowers under him, he landed and waited. Nothing happened. With a growl, he stomped, and the dirt gave way. Totally expecting it, he descended gracefully to the floor below, right in front of the blonde heroine and her cat sister who were staring at him with a mix of shock and joy.

"I told you guys we needed three people."

"Marshall Lee!" Fionna jumped to her feet.

"Yep, that's me. Who else?"

"We thought we'd be stuck here forever!"

"Nah, if anything I'd just make you wait a couple days til I felt like coming down."

"Not surprised," Cake mumbled, earning a smirk from the vampire.

"Now come on, let's solve these rooms," Fionna turned back to the door she'd first tried to open, and Marshall Lee took the door beside her. All three pushed at the same time, and the doors opened. Each was greeted with a different sight.

Fionna faced a waterfall, and she could see a glowing behind it, so her first instinct was to back away. She hated water.

Marshall Lee faced a curtain, but there was a light behind it so bright that it made his skin tingle painfully even just standing in front of it.

Cake faced a doppelgänger of Marshall Lee and she immediately turned away. "Uh-uh, no way."

So, Marshall Lee switched with Fionna, and Fionna switched with Cake. It was only minutes before Marshall Lee emerged back into the central room with a glowing crystal in hand, Cake came back with a broken-off golden blade of a sword, and Fionna returned with a broken sword hilt she'd won from the doppelganger after kicking the snot out of him. Marshall Lee looked at Fionna with an entirely unimpressed expression and she just smiled away. Cake combined the three items, placing the jewel at the pommel of the hilt where it fit perfectly, and she slid the blade back into place where it locked in. Handing the sword to Fionna, they all faced three more doors. If it was all this easy, they'd be done in less than an hour.

The next doors each offered a challenge similar to those before. Again they all ended up switching so that Cake faced a sliding stone puzzle, Marshall Lee faced a mountain that he was meant to climb (but he really just floated up the side) and Fionna faced a huge monster in an arm-wrestling competition. Again, they all emerged with items won from unlocking the puzzle, reaching the mountain summit, and soundly defeating the monster. This time, they formed another, smaller sword with a silver blade and a leather-wrapped handle with a red pommel jewel. Marshall gave it to Cake, insisting that he already had his axe guitar and needed no sword.

"This is _way _too easy, like way easier than everything before," Fionna commented.

"Don't get lured into a false sense of security…the last challenges are the worst," Marshall Lee warned her.

"What?"

"Well… you know how we all switched up doors to play to everyone's strengths?"

"Yeah."

"The last doors aren't gonna let us switch."

"Aw! Why not?!"

"Magic, kiddo." The three all approached the last doors which stood in a line side-by-side, and they all pushed through them at the same time, quite literally. Instead of opening, they all phased through the doors and could not return. But Marshall Lee could hear Cake scream and Fionna groan in frustration. He hardly noticed them, his eyes locked on the challenge before him: another doppelganger of himself, but this one was not his current self. He was wearing the amulet of the Nightosphere, dressed in a fine suit, and the bodies of Fionna, Cake, and several of their friends all lay in bloody heaps around him. He felt a deep pain in his chest, knowing he was facing his future self. That was, the future Marshall Lee that his mother, the ruler of the Nightosphere, wanted. He was about to do battle with the thing he'd been fighting all his life: what was expected of him.

* * *

**_Yay, deepest fears come true! Let me know what you guys think! Part two is already in development!_**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**


	6. Dungeon of Doors P2

**_After gaining a companion when Marshall Lee catches up to the trapped duo, the adventurers find themselves facing the last set of three doors in the dungeon. Fionna is faced with something that makes even _****her ****_courage wane, and Marshall Lee faces his future at the hands of his mother. Both are forced to do and say things they'd never thought they could ever do._**

* * *

_CLANG! SHWIIIIIING!_

Fionna did everything she could to destroy the form in front of her, knowing it was just another fake doppelganger. It was Flame Prince and though he looked real and normal, her sword clashed off of him like he was made of stone. He watched her as if curious. "What are you doing, Miss Fionna?"

At first she'd seen a line of statues when she'd walked in, and groaned because she knew it was a puzzle. Before her had stood stone figures of Prince Gumball, Lumpy Space Prince, Flame Prince, Cake, some boy that looked oddly similar to her and a dog that reminded her of Cake, Marshall Lee, and a girl who sort of looked like him but with really long black hair. She ignored the three she didn't know and found nothing odd about Cake's statue. She found herself drawn to the statue of Flame Prince since he was still the biggest enigma of the three young men left. She walked up and touched his arm, and the other statues had crumbled while he gained his color. After a long time circling him and trying to figure out what to do, she'd resorted to what she was doing now.

_Clang! Clang! Clangclangclangclangclang!_ She literally beat on the fake Flame Prince until her arms hurt from the shock. Her new sword was still completely unharmed, and so was the doppelganger.

"Are you… trying to kill me, Miss Fionna?" He asked as if saddened.

"No! I'm just… you're not real! And I gotta solve this puzzle! Cake and Marshall are probably laughing at me in the next room!"

"I'm quite real. But what I really want to know is why you chose me."

"Chose you?" Fionna paused to look at him.

"Yes. Your best friends, strangers, and even your sister were in this line, yet you chose me and you've only met me once."

"I didn't _choose_ you, I was just really curious, okay!" Fionna blushed. "I've only seen you once and I wanted a better look!"

"I see."

"So… what do I do, dude?"

"Your challenge is one of bravery-"

"Alright! I'm kick-butt brave!"

"Bravery of the heart."

"Like… facing impossible odds brave? 'Cause I do that all the time!"

"No. You need no blade. What you must do is summon your courage and speak what your heart tells you about the person you chose. So, what does your heart say about me?"

Fionna froze then. She couldn't say what she felt! Like how she thought he was downright hot (no pun intended) and how she wanted to go and kick Flame Queen's butt so he could go home to his Fire Lion Pride and his Lion-Mom if she was still alive. She didn't know why she felt so strongly, maybe because they shared technically-orphan status, or maybe because he seemed to be so good while everyone called him evil just because he was made of fire. Even Gumball refused to see the good in him. If there was one thing Fionna always wanted to do, it was to see the good in the people around her. It was why she was friends with Marshall Lee who still insisted he was evil, and why she supported Flame Prince because he wanted to be left alone while the world insisted he was evil.

"Miss Fionna?" He asked softly, shaking her from her thoughts. She looked up at him and her face grew even redder.

"I… I can't."

"You must, or you can't leave."

"But we just met! What can I possibly say?"

"Whatever you feel. First impressions are lasting, after all."

"Well…" Fionna stared down at her shoes. "I… I thought you were kinda cute…"

This had the doppelganger blushing, as if he were the real Flame Prince. "… Really?"

"Yeah… And… I really wanted to help you because I felt so bad for you… I know what it's like, not to have real parents and to lose the people you call your parents. When you said you were sure your mom killed that Fire Lioness you loved so much, I… I got really sad. My mom's gone too, and my dad. Well… Cake's mom and dad."

"Why don't you tell these things to the real me…? I'm sure I'd appreciate it," the doppelganger suggested.

"I can't actually tell you! I already look like a total wad!"

"No. You look lovely, and you have a pure heart. I'm sure the real Flame Prince could use a real friend right now. You may pass, dear Miss Fionna." He stepped aside then, and behind him opened up a large archway. Fionna made her way past, but then paused to look back at him. He gave her a smile, and strode forward to place a gentle kiss on her cheek that had her blush growing even more pronounced. "Well done." He then disappeared, and she made her way out to see a very frazzled, panting Cake laying on the floor, waiting for her. If she weren't so lost in her own thoughts, Fionna would've remembered to be worried.

"Fi?" She heard after a long silence. She looked up to see that Cake had recovered and was standing before her with a worried expression.

"What?" Fionna asked softly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just… that challenge kinda messed with my head. Where's Marshall Lee?"

"He's still in there."

"Weird… well, what was your challenge?"

"Fear. A whole lotta fear. Marshall Lee chasin' me, a troll tryin' to chop off my tail, you after you lose a video game… I finally got out after I faced them."

"I wonder what Marshall's is..."

* * *

Tears coursed down his pale face as he stared at the blood on his hands and the body of not only his future self in a pool of black blood, but also his mother- his hated, beloved mother- laying before him. That was the solution… to kill the woman that would make him the uncaring, completely evil, heartless beast that would rule the Nightosphere. The door opened up before him as the blood and bodies faded away, but the last to fade was that of Fionna, making him wonder if he would really kill his mother to save his friends…

"Marshall Lee?" Fionna's voice called from the doorway. He quickly rose and wiped away his tears before she could see, and he came out quietly. "Marshall? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, why?" He put on his usual casual mask of indifference.

"What was your challenge?"

"Oh, just my mom being a total jerk, nothing new." But it hurt to remember the things she'd said in that chamber. _You're an Abadeer and the Vampire King. You were born to kill everyone and be the most evil creature that ever existed. Now just give in, and be Mommy's little monster._

_Never,_ he growled mentally. He might've been bad, but never _that_ bad.

"Marshall?" Fionna's voice came again and he realized she'd been talking for several minutes. "Hey, are you listening?"

"Do I ever?" He still put up his front of carelessness.

Fionna huffed angrily and handed him a sword he hadn't even noticed, made with a bronze blade and a green jeweled pommel. "You left this in your challenge room. Now come on."

"Whatever," he took the blade and they all pushed their way through a final door. They came to a domed room not unlike the room with nine doors, but this only had the one door they'd come from. In the center was a circular plinth with three slits. Marshall Lee led the way, thrusting his blade into one of the three openings, and Cake and Fionna followed. The three swords began to glow and their pommels shot out beams of red, blue, and green light up to the ceiling where a clear crystal chandelier hung. The light was refracted through the crystals, throwing rainbows all across the room until, from the center, fell a book which landed with the title face-up.

"The Flute of the Wind… a flute?" Fionna looked up just in time to see a long wooden flute fall from the chandelier, and she reached out to catch it. It felt smooth and cool, and just right in her hands.

"_Aw come on!"_ Marshall Lee threw his hands up in the air. "A flute? Man, I can't play a globbin' flute!"

"Why not?"

"It's for geeks, that's why!"

"Hey, boy, my Mama played a flute, so you better not be dissin' her!" Cake snarled, and Fionna was on her side.

"She taught me when I was little! Does that make me a geek?!" Fionna growled and Marshall Lee quickly put his hands up defensively.

"Hey, I didn't say your mom was a geek, I just-"

"Yeah you did! And me too!" Fionna turned away with a pronounced "Hmph!" and headed for the new door that had appeared, leading to a stairway. Cake took the book with her with a similar huff and followed. Marshall Lee just sighed, following after a moment. _What a waste of time… and emotional energy._

When they arrived back at the treehouse after Marshall Lee had sufficiently apologized, Fionna began studying the book, finding it was actually full of sheet music for wind spells. She summoned a breeze that blew through the living room without the windows being open, before she simply started playing tunes she remembered from her childhood. Marshall Lee looked on, slowly finding that he was actually quite impressed. She was good for not having played in years.

"Hey," Marshall spoke up when she finished a song.

"Hey what?" Fionna looked up at him as he lounged across from her.

"When're we gonna jam? Since you've got an instrument and all."

"I thought you said flutes were for geeks," she returned teasingly.

"They are," he smirked, "but since you can't get away from your geekery, you might as well embrace it."

"How about tomorrow night?"

"It's a date."

Fionna blushed, and Cake immediately kicked the vampire out, berating him until he disappeared from sight. Marshall Lee just chuckled to himself. _Maybe this day wasn't such a waste of time after all._

* * *

**_I had always noticed that Farmworld Finn played a flute, so I figured, what better instrument for Fionna? And, what better challenges to kick off a little bit of Fionna/Flame Prince romance and explore Marshall Lee's relationship with not only what his mother wants him to be, but what he'll do in order to avoid that fate. Haha! Let me know what you guys think!_**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**


	7. Mini-sode: Cupcake Caper

**_Mini-sode_**

**_Prince Gumball has hit upon the perfect red velvet cupcake recipe! But when his new creations start to go missing, he's left entirely bewildered as he attempts to catch the thief._**

* * *

"Aha! Finally, they're perfect!" The candy prince cried joyfully as he took a bite from his sour cream frosting-covered red velvet cupcakes that he'd been laboring for a week to make just right. He had the old-style sour cream frosting down to an art, and had finally hit upon the right recipe for the batter. He hurried to his oven to put in the next batch, and only minutes later when he returned, he found the pan empty. With a gasp, he looked all around for evidence of what had happened, only finding a trail of crumbs leading to the window. He hurried to the window and gazed out. The first person he saw was Cinnamon Bun.

"Cinnamon Bun! Did you see anyone pass by with cupcakes?!" He called out to her.

"Oooh, cupcakes? Can I have one?" She hopped up and down with excitement.

"Of course, but did you s-"

"Cupcakes! Cupcakes!"

"Please, d-"

"_CUPCAKES!"_

"When they're cooled!" He told her with an exasperated sigh. He heard a loud clang behind him and turned to see the cooling pan had dropped to the floor and the six new cupcakes had fallen apart and made a mess. "Oh, no!" He gasped, his brows furrowing in confusion.

_The thief must've burnt himself! _He thought, _serves him right! I know how to catch him!_

The prince set to making a new batch of goodies, this time pumpkin muffins, and by the time they were done and out cooling, Prince Gumball was already planning his strategy. He laid them on the windowsill and pretended to hear someone calling. "Oh! I'm coming!" He jogged out, but stopped right beyond the arch, peering back in just enough to see the pan. He watched for several minutes, but no one came to take them. With a long sigh, he entered and poked his head out the window.

"Cinnamon Bun! I made muffins!" but she was nowhere to be found. _She must've forgotten about the cupcakes._

He decided to go back to making his new cupcakes, baking several batches at once without a thought for the thief, reasoning that they'd probably stolen all they wanted. But when he turned his back for just a moment after frosting a new batch, he heard another pan clatter. He expected to see the cupcakes smashed on the floor, but it was just the pan. The sweets were gone. Again, he tried to catch the thief, laying out a hot pan of the cupcakes and hurrying out with the same ruse as before. When he peeked back in he saw the pan begin to float and he gasped, hearing a quiet yelp. The pan clattered to the floor and Prince Gumball jumped in and caught hold of the invisible thief.

"Aha! Show yourself, vagabond!" He cried out as he fell with the wriggling invisible being still in his grasp,

"Get offa me!" Marshall Lee yelped as he hit the floor with the candy Prince's full weight on top of him. Gumball was so surprised that the vampire was easily able to slip away. Knowing he was caught, Marshall Lee floated lazily up to the ceiling once he'd calmed himself, giving Gumball a smug frown.

"Marshall Lee! What on earth do you think you're doing, stealing my cupcakes!" Gumball demanded as he jumped to his feet with his hands planted firmly on his hips.

"They're red, dude. I eat red."

"You could've asked, thief!"

"It was way too much fun to pass up seeing the look on your face when they disappeared," Marshall Lee reasoned as if it were entirely normal.

"Hmph, well, see if I make that red velvet cake for your birthday now!"

"Huh?" Marshall sat up from his lounging position. "How d'you know about my birthday?"

"Next week. Fionna told me."

"How the glob does she know?!"

"Your calendar, she said."

"Nosy little bunny," Marshall growled under his breath.

"Now look here, if you wanted some sweets, you could've asked. I need someone to taste-test for me anyway while Fionna's away exploring."

"I'm not gonna hang around while you bake like she does."

"You don't have to. I'll let you know when I finish more."

"… I'm not sorry for this, yknow," Marshall Lee reminded the candy prince as if looking for a reaction that he'd expected but not gotten.

"I know you're not, but I forgive you anyway. If Fionna sees good in you, then so can I."

"Ugh…" Marshall stuck his forked tongue out.

"Now then…" Gumball returned to his counter, but he paused when he went to reach for the ingredients. "Oh… oh no…"

"What?" Marshall Lee raised an eyebrow, looking over at the prince who'd frozen in place.

"I… forgot the recipe…"

"Here," Marshall Lee landed beside him, pulling a notepad from beside Gumball's cookbooks to begin scribbling down a list of ingredients.

"… You were here when I came up with the recipe?"

"Yeah. Don't get all excited, I was bored and I was looking for red stuff in your castle that I could eat."

"… And I thought you never paid attention," Gumball smiled, patting Marshall's shoulder. Normally, Marshall Lee might've hissed at the prince not to touch him, but this time, he let it go, tearing off the note from the list and handing it over. "You don't know how much your help means to me, Marshall Lee. Thank you kindly."

"Don't get used to it."

"Of course not, my friend."

* * *

**_I've always enjoyed the Marceline-Bubblegum relationship in Adventure Time, especially in 'What Was Missing' and the song 'I'm Just Your Problem'. I'm aware that in the comics of Fionna and Cake, Gumball and Marshall Lee are on fair terms whereas the 'Bad Little Boy' episode shows them as similar to the girls. In my head, they've got a relationship halfway between the two where Gumball knows, like Fionna, that Marshall's not all bad, and Marshall likes to prank him seeing as it's so entertaining, but still helps and respects him now and then. This was just a fun little exploration into their relationship in the form of what I like to call a 'mini-sode'. I hope you guys enjoy, and leave me a review with your thoughts._**

**_P.S. _**

**_Be prepared for some serious sad._**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**


	8. Asha

_**After thwarting the attempts of his birth mother's soldiers to recapture him with the help of Fionna the Human, Ignatius Flint Morkai finds a peaceful life of solitude for himself, spending most of his time studying the world around him. However, such a lonesome existence leaves him plenty of time to daydream about his past, which is the last thing he wants.**_

* * *

A deep, soothing growl rumbled against Ignatius Flint Morkai's ear and he smiled softly as he began to waken. "Mother…" he murmured, opening his dark eyes only to recoil in horror at the sight of a huge bear standing over him. The beast jumped back, pawing its snout as it had burned itself touching the Prince of Fire. It roared and swiped out at the terrified prince, only to burn its paw. It ran, realizing it couldn't hurt the young man, and Flint was left to stare after it with wide eyes. For just a second, he'd thought he was home in his pride's cave, being woken to go out hunting by his loving mother. Not the Flame Queen, but the Fire Lioness known as Asha. She had been so wonderful… he missed her terribly, especially since learning she had indeed been killed by his birth mother, the Queen of the Fire Kingdom. As he remembered seeing his lion-mother's pelt in the hall of his real mother's castle, his chest felt like it was about to implode, and his flames grew brighter.

_No… No, calm down… you'll burn everything… Miss Fionna wouldn't like that,_ he reminded himself silently. He'd met with her a few times since she'd rescued the Candy Kingdom from his unintended mass fire, even receiving her help once or twice in escaping from fire soldiers. She'd sufficiently driven them off and it seemed they weren't going to chase him anymore, so he'd taken up residence in a cavern not too far from a forest on the edge of the grasslands, but not too close to the trees to cause another fire. He spent his days studying the world around him. He'd never known anything but the fire savannas, and this world beyond his home was so intriguing, especially considering how careful he had to be. His birth mother's cruelty and the years of his imprisonment had made him distrustful and quick-tempered, but his lion-mother's gentle yet firm ways made him want to pause and calm down when he was enraged, and consider what his actions might do to those he cared about. Thus far, the only people he really cared about were Fionna and Cake, being his only real friends and the only two concerned with his well-being, so he tried to keep himself from causing fires and trouble that they might have to come and investigate. He visited their home every so often, as he sometimes became lonely between his studies, but he kept far from the tree as Cake had asked.

He decided he needed some company to recover from his sadness and anger, so he rose from his cave home and made his way out to the grasslands. Even though he left a wilting trail, he kept his fire low enough that he didn't burn the ground and grass beneath his feet. Fionna wouldn't enjoy a grass fire near her home. He made his way to their tree and paused paces away. They'd worked out a system for him to let them know he was there. He looked down and there lay a pile of pebbles. He picked one up and cast it up at the living room window. With a _tick_ it bounced off. He threw three more before he figured they weren't home. Sighing, he went to sit at the peak of the hill before their home. He examined the grass and the flowers, but knew by now not to touch or he'd kill the pretty things. He enjoyed experimenting with his fire powers, but he had a deep appreciation for greenery and tried not to destroy it.

He waited nearly an hour, thinking about his last meeting with Fionna and how she'd started calling him Flint instead of Ignatius despite his aversion to his middle name, before a familiar vampiric youth appeared above flying toward the treehouse. He watched as Marshall Lee knocked on the door, secretly wishing he could be a normal person and do the same, and he watched as Marshall checked the windows before sighing and turning to fly away. He noticed the fiery prince and paused a few feet above him.

"What're you doing here?" Marshall Lee asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Waiting," Flint answered simply. He didn't care much for the Vampire King, but also had no problem with him as of yet.

"For what?" Marshall Lee landed near him, but not too close as he didn't enjoy the heat.

"For Miss Fionna and Miss Cake to return. I was feeling a little bit lonely, and they _are _my friends, so I thought I'd come visit."

"Friends?" Marshall Lee snorted. He wasn't sure what drove him to doubt the fact. He knew they were friends, but he didn't like it.

"Yes," Flint told him firmly, his eyes narrowing. "Miss Fionna has been a very good friend to me and has always lent a helping hand when I can't make it on my own."

"Dude, she's a _hero._ That's her job. She's not your friend."

"What's your problem, Marcus?" Flint growled as he rose to his feet. Marshall Lee hissed angrily at him in warning.

"It's _Marshall._ Marshall Lee."

"I apologize," Flint told him sincerely despite his anger. "But why are you acting like this? You talk as if you're trying to keep me away from her."

"Maybe I am."

"And why is that?"

"Because you're freakin' fire, man! You're gonna hurt her. You burn her all the time!" Normally Marshall Lee wouldn't care about such a thing, but he knew Fionna was too careless around Flint and Flint kept forgetting that she wasn't a fire-being like himself. Marshall Lee had seen the latest burn the night before on her arm and she'd explained that Flint had caught her to stop her from tripping.

"It's not my intention to hurt Miss Fionna! Even _you_ know that!"

"Listen, Ignatius," Marshall Lee faced him with a deadly serious expression that gave Flint pause in surprise. "Fionna's too nice to people, even if they hurt her. Why d'you think she's friends with me, after I always get her hurt in our little adventures at night? She doesn't care if you burn her, but I do, because I don't like it when she gets hurt."

"So then why do you remain near her?" Flint asked quietly, feeling a deep pain in his chest as he knew that both he and Marshall Lee were the most common cause of Fionna's injuries.

"… I guess it's because she wants to stay near me. If I don't go to her, she comes to me… She's already got one guy who gets her hurt all the time, she doesn't need another. So… just stay away from her, okay?"

"I-… Alright…" Flint murmured softly.

"Thanks… Um… I'm sorry, okay? You're a nice guy and everything, but… y'know… fire." Marshall Lee then took off into the sky to avoid any more of the sudden awkward guilt he felt at banishing one of Fionna's friends from her side for doing something that Marshall did all the time. Marshall didn't like to think about it, but it seemed like every time he went to hang with Fionna, she was scratched up or bruised by the end of their time together. He quietly thought to himself, _maybe I should stay away too…_ He didn't like how he felt. He didn't like feeling empathy for 'lesser' beings, and he hated having friends because it always caused him pain in the end.

Flint watched Marshall Lee go and glanced quietly back at the treehouse. _He's right… Miss Fionna _does _have a habit of spending time with those who can only hurt her…_ So, he resigned himself to never returning to the treehouse, and he made his way back to the cave. He left a scorched trail, but tried to keep himself in check for the sake of the greenery. It was nearly midnight when he returned, and he sat down in the dark cavern with a sad sigh. He was simply left to his own thoughts, and he hated it.

* * *

"Ignatius," the soft voice cooed in the language of the fire lions. "Come along, my sweet cub, it's time to get up."

"But mother…"

"I know you're tired, dear little one, but you must be hungry after such a long time without a meal."

"… I am." Slowly young Ignatius rose to face his mother, her fiery body glowing warmly as her expression at the sight of her youngest child. He was not of her kind, but she loved him dearly as she loved her other two cubs, and she was his greatest supporter as he grew and tried to be a proper member of the pride. He was not as fast, strong, or nimble as the others, but he was bright and inquisitive. Hunts that would normally fail saw great success when he took the helm as a strategist. He couldn't take down prey without a spear he'd made for himself, but he could certainly help the others using his brilliant tactical skills. It was only after he'd shown such traits that the pride had accepted him, but he was often still teased, and his adoptive siblings refused to call him brother except for when he accomplished a great hunt.

Asha loved him so, and he loved her wholly and completely and believed he was just her odd, furless cub, not a fire-person like those in the Fire Capital. She knew different, having taken him in after a servant of the Fire Queen laid him at her feet as an infant. It had been fourteen years since then, and he'd grown into a handsome young man.

The whole pride made its way out to the savanna beyond their large cavern home, led by Asha with young Ignatius riding on her back. Ignatius looked out ahead to see the fire-gazelles in a large herd, and he called out to his fellow pride members for them to get into position here and there, secretly hidden among the sparse trees and flamegrass. He told them to focus on the part of the herd closest to Asha, and she hid herself, letting Ignatius climb up in a tree so he could give hand signals to the others and call out orders.

"Ready…" he whispered down to his mother. At the twitch of her tail as an affirmative sign, he roared out to the rest of the pride and they all converged on the herd. Two gazelles were trapped as the rest fled, and Ignatius watched with proud glee as they were taken down, securing the first meal in days for his hungry pride.

"Haha! Nate! Nate! Nate!" The pride chanted his name and he felt a warmth greater than fire fill his chest. It was moments like these when they accepted and praised him that he truly felt he belonged. Even his siblings went around boasting how their weird brother was smarter than anyone else in the pride. A few challengers always tried to outwit Ignatius, or 'Nate' as they called him for short, but he had never beaten yet. The only one he considered smarter than himself was his mother, and he made that clear to them all when they asked how he had become such a hunting genius. Asha simply told them he was born special and that she couldn't ask for more. His siblings would even tease him good-naturedly about how he'd traded fur for extra brains, and though he hated looking different, he'd always accepted that idea.

This hunt resulted in a great celebration among the pride, since food had not been so hard to come by in years, and Ignatius had saved not only the hunters, but the older and weaker members of the pride from starvation, including the new cubs whose mothers needed the nourishment. He was treated like a king that night, and he loved it, but he tried not to let it go to his head at his mother's advice.

As the pride slept, full and happy after celebrating well into the night, Ignatius made his way out to the boulder before the cavern, perching on it with a smile as he looked up at the moon. He felt content, more so than ever before. He examined the skies as he did every night, until he noticed something strange in the distance. It was a shape he'd never seen before. Summoning his courage, he made his way out to investigate, sneaking across the savanna with the stealth that came of being much smaller than the other fire lions. He poked his head up out of the flamegrass as he drew near the strange metal contraption, and found it was some sort of cage on wheels. He'd seen them before when fire people came to kidnap members of his pride to take to the circus for the entertainment of royalty. He felt deep anger rise in his chest, but he kept a calm head, remembering his mother's words from when he was young. _"Don't be upset, be precise and calm. That is how you will overcome what angers you."_ Taking her advice to heart, he made his way around the cage, finding there was a camp built near it where some poachers, armed with spears and whips, lay sleeping.

Ignatius knew what to do, and he set about chaining them silently with their own shackles that had been reserved for capturing a beast. He smirked to himself as he finished, admiring his handiwork, until a hand grabbed his arm and he was turned to face a giant flame being with a crown who seemed not to have a body, she was so engulfed in the fires. He let out a screech of surprise, waking the two poachers.

"Fools! You let him chain you?!" The royal flame roared.

"Aaagh! Grawwwwr! Raaaaarrr!" Ignatius snarled in his native tongue, ordering her to release him, but she lifted up a spear and struck him across the back of the head with the butt end.

* * *

"Flint?"

With a gasp, Flint sat forward out of his daydream to come face-to-face with a bunny-eared blonde. Not realizing who she was at first, he exploded in flames and jumped to his feet, backing up quickly. She yelped at the heat and surprise and fell on her butt, staring up at him with a mixture of fear and shock. "It's me, Fionna!" She said quickly, and when he began to visibly calm, she pushed herself up to a crouch. She had to stop herself from bolting forward to catch him as he fell to his knees, covering his face as tears of flames filled his eyes and his own fire burned low.

Fionna watched helplessly as sobs wracked her dear friend's body, and she felt tears fill her own eyes with empathy for him. What had upset him so?

"Mama…" he whispered into his hands, and Fionna felt the tears slip down her cheeks.

_Oh… his mother…_

After long minutes of trying to contain his grief, Flint finally wrapped his arms around himself and sat back on his knees, sniffling as he stared at the stone floor of the cavern. "Y-You… you shouldn't have come, Miss Fionna…" he muttered, feeling both gladness at her presence and embarrassment that she'd seen him break down.

"Why wouldn't I?" Fionna came to her knees before him, wiping away her own tears. He looked up to see this, and he was left confused, forgetting her question.

"Wh-Why are you crying…?"

"Because you are."

"But… you have nothing to be sad about."

"I do if you're hurting." She lifted her hand, wanting so badly just to reach out and give him a comforting touch, but the heat radiating from his body alone made her pause inches away and pull back.

"You should worry more for yourself, Miss Fionna…"

"And why should I do that?"

"You're the one who always gets hurt because of me… I burn you constantly, just like Marshall Lee said…"

"Marshall Lee's just a big meanie, don't listen to him. You never burnt me on purpose. It's okay, really. I heal fast," Fionna offered with a smile, and was glad to see him give her an, albeit weak, smile back.

"So… you aren't going to stay away…? Even if you should?"

"Nope. You're too interesting to give up on just 'cause you're made of fire."

"… Thank you, Miss Fionna…"

* * *

**_Asha has quickly become one of my most favorite minor characters. Too bad she'll never make a real appearance, as Flint's memory is just that; a memory. Still, her influence will stick with him. As for Marshall Lee, however, he's got some serious issues coming to the surface after Flint reminded him that he too always hurts Fionna. Because you know Fionna, she only hangs out with people who can get her into trouble. That includes PG since he's always sending her on dangerous missions. I hope you guys enjoy, leave me a review with your thoughts while I go cuddle the stuffing out of a pillow to soothe my aching heart._**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**

**_P.S. I promise there's something more happy coming up._**


	9. Just Like Me

**_It's a fairly normal day when Fionna takes a calm and curious Flint to see the Candy Kingdom and assure him it's all okay despite Gumball's protests. After they take shelter from a harsh rain and head back to the bridge across the river, you'd think it'd be Flint who had the hard time crossing the waterlogged bridge._**

* * *

"Come on, Flint. It's okay, you only burned the tarp, and he wasn't even mad."

"But I feel so guilty…"

"We paid for a new one, he'll be fine."

"_You_ paid for a new one. I just stood off to the side looking like a jerk."

The Prince of Fire and the Hero of Aaa made their way along the only just-dried path toward the bridge over the river, away from the Candy Kingdom. Fionna had been showing the scholarly prince around the city, and Flint had spent half the time apologizing to the townsfolk for nearly burning the city down months before. A few people just ignored him, but most of the good candy people told him they knew it wasn't intentional. They were much more accepting than Prince Gumball, who was wary of Flint getting anywhere near the city, much less _in _it.

They'd been exploring when it had begun to rain and they took shelter under a vendor's tarp. But just as the rain had subsided, the tarp had burnt to a crisp, leaving Flint feeling incredibly guilty, Fionna paying for the damage, and the stall-keeper good-naturedly telling them the tarp had been old anyway and had needed to be replaced.

"You really think he was okay with it?" Flint asked softly.

"Sure, dude! He was all smiles," Fionna assured him brightly. Both paused as they came to the river, which had flooded. The bridge itself was under about half a foot of rushing water and the duo looked at each other, knowing it would be painful for Flint to cross normally.

"Uh oh…" Fionna muttered.

"Hm… I suppose I'll just have to sta- oh, wait!" Flint suddenly lit up with an idea. "The rails! They're wide enough to walk on! And I have good balance!" He quickly hurried to the above-water rails, jumping up and balancing like a perfect gymnast on a balance beam. He practically jogged across, even showing off with a somersault as he landed. With a bright laugh, he turned to Fionna. "See?"

"That was awesome! You can tell you were raised by cats," Fionna smiled. She was too and even though she always landed on her feet, she had never gotten the same balance as her cat family. "If you don't mind, I'm just gonna cross the normal way. Wet feet are no big." Even if she did hate getting her feet wet like Cake did. She trotted along into the water, but the moment she took a step, she slipped and nearly fell. The current was intense and she knew she had to be careful. She grabbed onto the rail with one hand, but as she inched forward, she felt a shudder through the bridge.

"Fionna!" Flint cried, seeing his end of the bridge begin to shift and become dislodged from the soil. He couldn't do a thing, though, or he'd end up killing himself if he fell in the water. And entire half of the bridge suddenly groaned and snapped, and Fionna fell with it. Flint nearly did jump in, until he saw she was clinging to the breaking rail of the other half for dear life as the current tried to sweep her away. She let out a heartbreaking scream, and Flint knew what to do.

"Hold on! I'll get help!" He was off like a flaming shot across the grasslands. He knew Cake wasn't home, they'd had lunch with her and Lord Monochromicorn earlier before the couple flew off for a quiet date. So, Flint went to the next-nearest person who could help with all speed, feeling fiery tears of worry brimming in his eyes.

_Hold on, Miss Fionna…_

* * *

Marshall Lee sat forward with a jolt at the sound of a breaking window in his home, and he bolted downstairs to see his front window shattered with a rock laying amongst the shards. Outside, he saw Flint, staring right at him. Marshall Lee hissed viciously and flew out through the broken window with his axe guitar in hand. "What the glob'd you break my window for?!"

"Forget the window, Fionna needs help!" Flint cried. He'd used the same tactic with Marshall Lee that he used to let Fionna know when he was at the treehouse; throwing pebbles at the window to catch her attention. But the rock was too big and he'd thrown too hard in his rush. He didn't care, and it seemed Marshall Lee forgot about it at the mention of Fionna. It was midafternoon, so without another word, Marshall Lee retrieved his umbrella and they sped across the plains to the river. But they arrived to see the bridge entirely gone.

"No! No she was here!" Flint shouted, glowing brightly in anger and worry. Marshall Lee flew off downstream, Flint following on the banks, until they found where the pieces of the bridge had come to a halt, lodged against a log that had fallen over the river. Fionna was there, having lost her white bunny-eared hat, and she was crushed between two large pieces, clinging to the log above for dear life.

"Shoot the pieces!" Marshall called out as he landed on the log and took Fionna's hands.

"I'll hurt her!"

"Shoot them or they'll crush her to death!" Marshall roared, and Flint hesitated only a moment longer before hurling fireballs at the wooden pieces. His aim was true enough not to hit Fionna, but the impact caused her to yelp in pain as one jagged and broken piece of wood dislodged and slashed her side as it was carried away. Marshall pulled her up and out of the water just before she could be carried away when the pieces broke loose, and Fionna found herself in his arms, clinging tightly around his neck and shivering violently between shock and cold.

"C'mere!" Marshall growled to Flint as he brought Fionna back to the riverbank. Flint drew near and Marshall took off his grey plaid shirt, leaving him in just his grey tank. He wrapped Fionna in the long shirt and when Flint wouldn't get close enough, Marshall Lee outright grabbed his arm and pulled him in so Fionna could warm up,

"Marshall Lee," Flint gasped as Marshall pulled his hand away and grit his teeth.

"It'll be gone by tomorrow," Marshall Lee snapped, telling him without further words to focus on Fionna. Flint knelt before her, letting her get as close as was safe to warm herself before she could catch hypothermia from the cold river. Marshall Lee pulled away and dipped his burnt hand in the water to sooth it without another word.

"M-Marshall," Fionna spoke through chattering teeth after a long silence.

"Yeah, bunny?" Marshall Lee answered softly, not even realizing he'd said the nickname. He looked over his shoulder at her.

"Th-Thank you…" she whispered, then she looked to Flint, who seemed a little bit ashamed of himself for having taken so long to bring help, even though he'd gone as fast as he could. He only wished he could've been able to save her, that his fire wouldn't have been quenched by the water, that he could've been her hero like she always was for him. "Flint?"

"Hm…? Yes, Miss Fionna?" He asked her softly, immediately attentive to her words.

"Thank you too. I'd be so dead meat if you hadn't gotten Marshall Lee." She gave him a smile, letting him know she was okay. "If you'd gotten anyone else, you would've never gotten here in time." Flint then realized, with a soft smile, he actually was a hero in a small way, at least in her eyes. If he'd not gotten the lightning-fast flying vampire, Fionna might've drowned or been crushed by the time he arrived with help.

"I just… wish I could've saved you without help," Flint told her honestly. "No offense to Marshall Lee, but… I wish I hadn't needed help."

"Everyone needs help," Fionna told him with a smile as warmth crept back into her bones. "Why d'you think I have Cake, and Marshall has me?"

Marshall Lee raised an eyebrow, looking over his shoulder from where he was letting his burnt hand trail in the water. "Psh, I don't need help."

"Says the guy who insisted we 'needed three' for the Dungeon of Doors."

"Hey, if not for the magicky stuff in there, I totally could've done it alone."

"Uh-huh. Alright, then, boys, take me home." Fionna rose with Marshall's shirt drawn tightly around her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Flint asked worriedly as he rose at the same time. "You were hurt-"

"Just scratched up. I'll be okay, Flint. Promise," Fionna assured him brightly as the cold gave way to her usually peppy attitude. She still insisted Flint walk close beside her, and the three made their way back to the treehouse. Flint didn't go in for fear of burning the place, but Fionna changed into dry clothes and made soup before coming out to join him and Marshall. Marshall Lee put aside his umbrella as the sun set below the horizon, and Flint glowed warmly, glad to see Fionna was alright, and he and Marshall Lee seemed to be on good terms.

"I still haven't forgiven you for breaking my window," Marshall grunted after a long silence following a short discussion about what had happened at the bridge.

"What?" Fionna looked to Flint in confusion.

"I… I threw a big rock at his window, like I do with the pebbles here, to get his attention…" flint explained quietly, blushing with embarrassment. Fionna only giggled and Marshall Lee fixed her with a highly unimpressed glare. "I can fix it easily," Flint told the Vampire King. "I will after Miss Fionna goes to bed."

"Which'll be right…" _Yaaaaawn._ "About now," Fionna murmured before rising. "Y'know… falling into a freezing river can really take it out of you."

"Alright fine. C'mon, Torchy."

"I've told you ten times now, Torcho-"

"Is your cousin, I know," Marshall Lee sighed and rolled his eyes. "Let's go."

"Bye, boys. Play nice!" Fionna called after them.

"Yes, mom!" Marshall called back teasingly, floating lazily above Flint as they made their way back toward Marshall Lee's cavern home. Flint set to carefully rearranging the shattered glass, melting them one-by-one back into place in the window. It was a long and painstaking puzzle, but eventually, Marshall Lee couldn't tell at all that it had been broken. "Finally," he huffed, going inside and fetching the rock Flint had thrown. "And take your stupid rock with you. Just yell next time."

"Hopefully, for Miss Fionna's sake, there won't be a next time," Flint sighed with a nod.

"Hey…" Marshall murmured, looking down when Flint met his eyes for a moment. "About what I said before… y'know, about you always hurting Fionna… I take it back, man."

"I think we would both hurt her much worse if we were to stay away for her safety," Flint spoke with wisdom that his lion-mother Asha would be proud of.

"Yeah… I think you're right. So… thanks for, y'know, coming and getting me. I'd think you'd ask someone a lot… well, nicer."

"Nicer doesn't make up for the fact that you're a very intelligent and quick person, Marshall Lee. And Fionna trusts you, so I do too."

"Again with that? Man… Her, Gumball, now you?"

"What?"

"You all apparently see something you like about me, and I still don't get it."

"You have a good heart." That made Marshall Lee pause and look straight at Flint, who was now turning away with a smile. "Goodnight, Marshall Lee. Oh, and I believe I missed it a few weeks ago… Happy Birthday. I hope you liked my gift."

Flint left the entirely confused and frozen-in-surprise Vampire King behind him as he made his way to his cavern home. Marshall Lee hadn't had a real birthday party since he was very young, a makeshift operation by Symone, his caretaker and mother-figure back then when his real mother had lost him in the mortal world. That was back during the Mushroom War… The party that Fionna had secretly set up for him included Prince Gumball's newly-discovered perfect red velvet cake which Marshall had enjoyed _way _too much, a sweet leather choker with a bear claw from Fionna, a handmade white and black plaid shirt from Cake, and then a little stone statuette of a crescent moon imbued with a magical glow that nobody else seemed to know about. The stone moon looked naturally-formed and the glow turned out to be a magical recording spell, as explained by a note burned into a sheet of birchbark beside it. Marshall Lee had been using it to record himself making random tunes away from home so he could come back and work on them later. Now that he knew who had left it, it seemed so obvious that it was Flint. The charred note on bark, the way the little moon with all its symbols and markings that seemed to have formed naturally from obsidian… Why hadn't he seen it before? Flint had made it and enchanted it, likely with the help of some witch or wizard.

Marshall Lee quietly returned to his home, mulling over all that had happened in those short few hours between himself, Fionna, and Flint. Then, he sat down to play a somber tune with his recording amulet, despite the pain in his fretting hand.

_Why do I always assume the worst?_

_Even when he's just like me…_

_Why can I never see the good,_

_Not even in me…?_

_Because there's none to be had,_

_None left if there ever was._

_There's none to be had,_

_Even if there ever was._

_I know why I always assume the worst,_

_Because he's just like me._

_That's why I never see the good…_

_Not even… in me…_

* * *

**_A lot of Flint recently, I know, but that's because he's got just as much to do with this season as Marshall Lee does, plus he's a good buffer to secretly bounce Marshall's feelings off of and make him consider himself when he realizes that, take away the rocker-villain vibes and the titles and the flames, he and Flint are very similar. Ohoho._**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**


	10. When the World Died

**_Alternate Title:_**_ I Still Remember You_

_**A letter, a memory, a song, and a friendship long since ruined by the evil of an ice crown.**_

* * *

Fire burns them to black soot. Smoke chokes them until they fall.

Ash…

So much ash…All from the clouds above, raining down with the debris…

_Over the mountain, the ominous cloud,_

_Coming to cover the land in a shroud._

_Hide in a bushel, a basement, a cave,_

_But when the cloud comes a-hunting…_

_No one's a-safe._

He knew that rhyme too well, and it always struck him so hard when he heard little children sing it, so much so that he would nearly fall to his knees with his residual sorrow and anger. Did they have any inkling of what that song was really about? Didn't they know their 'Cloud Hunt' of hide-and-seek was based on the idea that no one, not even in the best of hiding places, could escape from the huge mushroom clouds of nuclear fallout and fire and ash? If the people back then hadn't burned to death, been crushed, blown up, or suffocated, they had mutated into monsters or some of the ancestors of the current people in the land of Ooo.

The Mushroom War had been one of the darkest times in Marshall Lee's life, made bearable only by the companionship of Symone Petrikov after his mother had abandoned him. Symone had made the world… almost wonderful. Despite the destruction, and despite the fact that Marshall Lee had been only a small half-demon child with hardly any power or knowledge, Symone had brought back curiosity, wonder, and hope. That was, until the crown had taken her away.

* * *

"Symone!" He cried fearfully. "Symone, where are you?!" Tears of fear were about to fill his eyes, thinking he'd been abandoned again, just like how his mother had done months before… He rose from his makeshift little bed where his best friend and caretaker had left him to sleep while she scavenged for breakfast. He'd woken from a nightmare and had been calling for her for some time now, too afraid to go outside in the hostile broken city they wandered through. He was brave for a child, but not brave enough to face the horrors wrought by the mushroom clouds. But this time, too scared to stay and be alone, he left the little half-broken house they'd taken shelter in for the night. He wandered the ash-dusted streets with bare feet save for the torn sock on one foot. Broken glass and splinters had long since stopped hurting him, but Symone still searched constantly for shoes that might fit him.

After several hours, he finally came to a halt on a sidewalk and let his tears flow, sniffling and trying to be brave like Symone often told him they had to be in the face of such a worldwide tragedy. But he couldn't. He was lost, alone, and he couldn't even figure out where he'd come from. He was so lost in fear and tears that he didn't hear the hurrying footsteps until he felt hands on his face, wiping his tears away. Warm hands, gentle despite callouses from years of work as a collector and scholar.

"Marshall Lee," the voice like a soothing bell reached his ears and he looked up to see his dear friend. "Marshall, honey, I told you to stay at the shelter…"

"I had a nightmare," Marshall told her with a sniffle.

"Oh?"

"Mom left me again, and she still didn't come back," he began to sob again.

"… Stay right there, sweetheart," Symone kissed his forehead before hurrying off across the broken street. She'd noticed a collapsed toy store there on her hunt for food, but had decided to pick up a toy on the way back for her little companion. He needed it now more than ever before. She looked among the toys, most torn or filthy, until her eyes settled on a pink teddy with black button eyes and a smile. She didn't know if Marshall Lee would like pink, but it was the only whole and clean toy. She hurried back and came to stop before Marshall Lee, holding out the teddy until he looked up. At first, he was surprised behind those teary eyes, but then a smile lit up his little blue face and he took the teddy and snuggled it like it was an old friend.

"He's perfect!" Marshall exclaimed, looking up at Symone with the kind of gratitude that only a child could convey.

"He'll be your friend while I'm away," Symone told him, pulling a kerchief from her pocket to wipe his dirty and tear-stained face. "That way you'll never have to be alone. But he needs a name, of course."

"Hambo!" Marshall blurted, hugging the teddy tightly.

"Hambo?" Symone chuckled. "Well, then. Hambo it is." She lifted the seven-year old up and gladly carried him away as they made their way back toward their shelter. She'd managed to find canned fruit and some good jerky, and it was more than they'd had in weeks. Soon, they'd be out of the city, and hopefully there would be more food where fallout had not ruined the greenery.

"Symone?" Marshall Lee asked softly as they finished their meal.

"Yes, Marshall?" She looked down upon him with her gentle blue eyes over the rim of her circular glasses.

"What's an 'anti-carion'?

"An antiquarian."

"Yeah."

"Well, as an antiquarian, I traveled the world studying ancient artifacts and items from years past."

"Like what?"

"Well… like ancient swords and armor, tools, paintings… and this crown I found in Scandinavia," she tapped the jewel-studded golden crown at her hip. "A man sold it to me without realizing what it does."

"… Is that why you're changing? Because of the crown…?"

"Yes. It's why my hair is turning white and my skin is turning blue."

"But blue's not so bad. It's like me!"

"I think I could learn to like blue, just because of you," Symone smiled softly, pulling him close to her side where he settled happily. After a long silence, he looked up at her, but he hesitated to speak his mind a moment. "See something interesting?" She asked him when she realized he was staring.

"Symone?"

"Hm?"

"… You're my best friend."

* * *

Marshall Lee let his head fall into his hands, the scattered pages of pictures and letters laying before him. He'd been searching through his old possessions, looking for inspiration when he'd come across the letter Symone had written him before she'd lost her mind completely to the effects of the ice crown.

He couldn't help remembering the day Symone, or 'Ice Queen' as she was known now, came and found his new home just as she'd found every one of his previous homes, asking him for help to write a song. She apparently didn't know why she was attached to him, always chalking it up to 'you're just a groovy guy' or some nonsense like that. With the letter and pictures before him, they'd made a song that he often dreamed about and woke up in tears from. He hated feeling so horrible for something that neither of them could've stopped. He'd been too young, and the magic in the crown was all that kept Symone alive, but it stole her mind away from her at the same time.

Slowly, Marshall Lee reached down to pick up the letter scrawled on the back of a picture, and tears filled his eyes once more as he read its contents.

_Marshall Lee, is it just you and me in the wreckage of the world?_

_That must be so confusing when I'm coming unfurled._

_And I know you're going to need me here with you,_

_But I'm losing myself and I'm afraid you're going to lose me too._

_I can feel myself slipping away…_

_I can't remember what it made me say,_

_But I remember I saw you frown._

_I swear, it wasn't me, it was the crown._

_This magic keeps me alive but it's making me crazy._

_And I need to save you, but who's going to save me?_

_Please forgive me for whatever I do_

_When I don't remember you._

_-Love, Symone_

"You stupid old woman…" Marshall Lee whispered as he could once again hear the song they'd created, playing through his head. He missed her. Not Ice Queen, but Symone Petrikov, the beautiful, wonderful woman who'd saved the little boy who'd been lost from his own world in the dying land of humans as they destroyed themselves. But she would not let them destroy the spirit of a tiny outcast boy. No, not Symone. She would've given up everything before she let him be hurt.

It was just too bad she'd lost it all with her mind, and left the boy more scared and confused than ever with only one small, stuffed friend left to cling to when the shadows grew dark and fearful and the night set in. Back then, he'd been afraid of the dark. She'd always chased it away with a fire or a candle or a story. After she'd lost her mind, Marshall Lee could only bury his face in Hambo and wish the fear away. Some nights, he still huddled alone in his home, wishing for the sun to rise despite how it hurt him now.

All he wanted was one more embrace. One more tender word from a fully-lucid Symone to assure him he was okay, and that she would keep him safe even when the crown took over. Just one more minute with Symone. The real Symone, the mother that she'd become when his own left or lost him in the human world. He still didn't know how he'd been lost... only that it hadn't been so bad with his best friend in the dying world.

* * *

_**This one's a bit short and too important to be a mini-sode, but I felt like it deserved... no, NEEDED to be written out in respect to the same story between Simon and Marceline. Marshall Lee, being her mirrored male self, needs a little bit of expanding upon his past. I hope to also add in a chapter about how Marshall became the Vampire King, after hearing that a person on the Adventure Time team mentioned that Marceline had killed the Vampire King to become the Vampire Queen.**_

_**We shall see. By the way, I'm sorry for all the sad recently, but you gotta admit these are necessary tears for the story.**_

_**-Taiylor Wallace**_


	11. Night of Noise P1

**_Alternate Title:_**_ Night of Silence_

_**At the annual celebration of the Night of Noise, a nearly 1,000-year old tradition of song since the end of the Great Mushroom War, Marshall Lee leads the musical charge with the help of Fionna and Cake. But after a (literally) magical flute solo by the heroine, Marshall Lee finds himself at the receiving end of Fionna's honest and true feelings... but they weren't what he expected.**_

* * *

_"Fionna! Wake up, man! We're gonna be late!"_

Ugh. Was it sunset already? Fionna had stayed up all night with Marshall Lee and Cake, practicing their songs and jamming to get warmed up for the annual Night of Noise and sleeping til near sunset when the fun would begin. The Night of Noise was a huge celebration that all of Aaa celebrated, some kingdoms even joining up with others for fun. It was a huge party all about music and dancing, begun when the first civilizations of Aaa appeared from the wreckage of the Great Mushroom War. It kept alive the old songs that the people knew and brought forth new music and styles either never previously discovered, or long-lost. And this year in the Candy Kingdom, Prince Gumball had called upon the Vampire King who was widely revered for his talent with a guitar and composing to help plan and open the night-long party. And Marshall Lee was bringing Fionna and Cake as his special guests for he was officially titled MC for the night.

Fionna popped out of bed much more quickly than her tired head wanted her to, causing her to stumble, but she caught herself and shook her head. She couldn't be late, because that meant Marshall Lee would be late.

"_Fionna!"_

"I'm coming! Just keep your jeans on!" Fionna shouted back down the ladder.

"_Says the girl thinking about me with jeans _off, _you bad little bunny."_

"Marshall!" Fionna cried, turning red as a rose petal. She hurried to the bathroom and was dressed in seconds before half-jumping down the ladder with her wind flute.

"Glob, you take forever," Marshall snorted, earning him a punch in the shoulder from the embarrassed girl.

"Shut up. Now where's Cake?"

"Outside waiting. Grab some money and let's go," he motioned to the huge treasure horde that Cake and Fionna kept. The three had planned to buy dinner and souvenirs, even breakfast if they felt like it as the celebration ended with sunrise. Fionna scooped a couple of handfuls of coins into her backpack and they hurried outside. Fionna jumped on a giant Cake's back and Marshall flew alongside, fiddling around with his new clothes. Gumball and Fionna both had insisted he wear something nicer than his usual red plaid and jeans combo, so he had dug out his pointed black boots, some new black jeans, and a nice white shirt (untucked of course) with a black vest. He refused to dress up any more than that, but it was enough for everyone else that he at least cleaned up a little, even gelling his hair to make it look more like he spent some time on it than just ran his fingers through. It was still messy, but less so.

They arrived just in time, but when they all came to stand before Prince Gumball behind the main stage, he grabbed Marshall Lee and shoved him toward the curtain. "You're on! Go! And don't mess this up!"

"Psh, like I ever screw up music," Marshall told him with a smirk that made Fionna giggle.

"Good luck," she whispered to him as the crowd quieted before the stage at Peppermint Maid's introduction. Marshall gave Fionna a wink that nearly made her blush, and he trotted on stage with his guitar on his back.

"Hello, Candy Kingdom! You guys ready to rock this Night of Noise?!" He roared over the applause, and the crowd went wild. He knew how to work an audience, Fionna had to give him that. "For you scrubs who don't know, I'm Marshall Lee the Vampire King, and you all are in for the wildest night of your lives!"

Another roar of approval, and Fionna, Cake, and a couple backup musicians hurried on stage. Cake had an electrified dulcimer to more suit Marshall's style, and began the opening act with the fastest, craziest guitar riff she'd ever heard, but now on her dulcimer, and Marshall Lee, the drums, the bass, and Fionna's voice joined in. Her flute would be saved for another time, a special song that Marshall Lee had asked her to play. This song, however, was a new take on an ancient madrigal from nearly a millennium ago at the first Night of Noise.

With a heavy input of riffs from the bass and a dark melody by Marshall, they launched into what was almost a rock-opera version of the song named for the special night.

_"Welcome all you girls and boys_

_To the new world's Night of Noise._

_With your voices make a tune,_

_Sing to the heavens and the moon._

_Welcome all you girls and boys_

_To the new world's Night of Noise._

_Bring your guitar, drum, and flute,_

_Bring your family, bright your lute._

_Come now all you girls and boys,_

_Celebrate the new world's night of Noise._

_In the old darkness we must rise,_

_Until the new dawn's blood-red skies."_

"_WELCOME TO THE NIGHT OF NOISE!"_ Marshall Lee roared over the crowd that was going absolutely insane. The music never stopped, because every song had to segway into the next. Their drummer and bassist remained as another hyped-up and loud band hurried on stage and kept the initial high going. Fionna and Cake hurried off-stage, but Marshall Lee remained, giving the crowd a rundown over the music of what would be going on and when that night. When he joined Fionna, he was practically vibrating with energy, and they joined the crowd to dance and sing along to anything they knew. Midnight seemed to come too fast for how much fun they were having, and that was the time when it was traditional for a song of magic to be played. The one with the honor of the Midnight Spell, as it was called, was Fionna with her flute. The crowd was still cheering for the last group when Fionna stepped alone onto the huge stage.

_"You'll be fine. Everyone's gonna love it. I know I do,"_ Marshall had told her for weeks. _"Just get up there and play. Forget about the magic behind it."_ She was going to play the 'Song of the High Wind', which was a spell in the book of songs she'd gotten along with the flute that called down the cold air from high in the atmosphere to create a chilling breeze all around her. She and Marshall had figured out how to tweak it the slightest bit with an extra few bars to summon mist animals running in the sky above the crowd to be lit by Prince Gumball's specially-made colored spotlights. Gumball was ready with the lights, Marshall was ready with high hopes, and Fionna had never felt less prepared in her life.

She stood before a microphone as the crowd quieted to murmurs about the ancient Midnight Spell tradition, and before they could become entirely silent, Fionna lifted the flute to her lips. She closed her eyes as the first long, sweet note filled the air and she felt the cool breeze stir around her ankles. It was a slow, very precise songspell, but she let it flow. All she could hear was the flute and soon the oooh's and aaah's of the crowd when her mist animals appeared above, lit in many colors filtering through the water vapor while the cold breeze swirled around them all.

Fionna opened her eyes for just a moment to take in the beautiful mist and wind magic she'd created, and at the same time, she let the note trail off until the animals disappeared. The people below seemed disappointed, but they hadn't seen what Marshall had spent weeks researching yet. With a low roll of notes almost like a musical chant without words, the mist in the skies reformed into a long serpentine shape, and when Fionna began to add in notes, it took shape until she was performing a complicated theme faster and faster as her eyes remained on the shape. Scales and small clawed hands formed. Whiskers grew out from its reptilian face, and soon, with just the right tiny spot of light from Gumball, its eyes lit up gold among the rainbow across its body. It began to move as if performing a simple spiraling dance to Fionna's tune, speeding up with her pace until, with one final middle note, the massive eastern dragon's body exploded into a rainbow of mist that filled the sky above the Candy Kingdom, and was swept away by one last cool breeze.

There was a long silence as the candy people stared up at the sky in wonder, until one whoop from the first person to get ahold of himself got the rest of them roaring in applause so loudly that Fionna could feel the stage shaking.

_"Fionna! Fionna! Fionna!"_ They chanted, and she rose from her seat with a smile and a humble little bow before exiting quietly. Once off the stage, she fell on her back in the grass, staring up at the sky for a long moment until Marshall Lee's face poked into her vision.

"Holy Glob, Fionna," was all he said before Fionna pulled him down into the grass beside her. He wasn't quite sure what she was doing until he looked up, and he could see the mist high above them, racing around in spirals and loops in the form of the dragon. "Wow…" He knew that the magic was powerful, but he had no idea that Fionna would actually create a real dragon with it. It would fade away come sunrise and evaporate, but for the night, it would be a mascot for their celebration.

"Hey."

"Huh?" Fionna turned her head only slightly toward Marshall Lee, still watching the dragon.

"That was freakin' fantastic. Beautiful. How about a late dinner, on me?"

"Sure."

Both rose to make their way to one of the many vendors, seeking out anything and everything that sounded good until they finally sat down at a makeshift table of a tree stump just outside the walls and away from the crowd, but within earshot if either was needed. Marshall Lee laid his food down before taking his guitar off his back and laying it aside, and Fionna laid her flute beside it. Both ate in silence for a few minutes before Marshall Lee snorted about something.

"Cake would kill us if she saw this."

"Why? It's not a date," Fionna reasoned, knowing her sister thought Marshall was trying to go out with her.

"Doesn't matter. To Cake, you spending any time with me is a date."

"Well then I guess I'm dating," Fionna stated without really thinking.

"So… does that mean you're my girlfriend?" Marshall smirked. Fionna turned so red that she thought she was going to burn up.

"No!" She yelped quickly. "We're just friends! Y'know, a guy and a chick, friends, that's it!"

"So I'm not your boyfriend, I'm your guyfriend?"

"Yes!"

"You're cute when you're embarrassed," Marshall Lee grinned and Fionna pulled her hat down over her face.

"_Mmmph muph muh mrk…"_

"Can't hear you, bunny."

"I said you're such a jerk!" Fionna growled after pulling up her hat just enough to be heard. "And don't call me that!"

"Why not? It fits."

"Only certain people get to call me that!"

"What, like your actual boyfriend?" At that, Fionna peeked out confusedly.

"I don't have a boyfriend. Who're you talking about…?"

"Uh, duh. Torchy." At that, Marshall Lee thought Fionna was going to throw up,, she was so embarrassed, and he wasn't really sure why it was so much worse.

"NO! No! Nononononono!" Fionna jumped to her feet to run away, but Marshall Lee was in front of her before she could.

"What's with the drama queen reaction, man?"

"It's none of your business!" Fionna turned away, but the moment she turned around, he was there again.

"Oh… I get it. You like him."

"No!"

"And you wish he really _was_ your boyfriend."

"NO!"

"Why didn't you just say so? Did you think I'd be jealous or some junk like that?" Marshall Lee chuckled, but when Fionna met his eyes with silence, he paused. "… What? You really think I'm jealous?"

"… Marshall… do you think he and I could work, even though he's all fiery and stuff?"

Marshall Lee stared at her like she'd grown a second head. No, that'd be funny and cool. This certainly wasn't. His best friend was asking him for his opinion on a guy she liked, and she apparently thought he was jealous of the Flame Prince too. _Glob, what kind of messages am I sending this girl?_ He wondered silently to himself. It wasn't that he _wouldn't _be a little jealous… Envy! That's all it'd be, right? Envy that she might have a good relationship! … And he wouldn't. Not with anyone… Not with her.

"Marshall Lee…?" Her voice suddenly reminded him of reality and he shook his head, meeting her eyes finally. "… What do you think… about me and Flint, if we maybe saw each other?"

"I… honestly?"

"Yeah…"

"I think you're stupid, and I think he's dangerous."

"So're you."

"Yeah… yeah, I know. I… I guess it could work… maybe a little magic and tin foil here and there, but… do you really want that…?" Marshall Lee landed before her and stepped a bit closer. "Are you sure… you want to commit to someone? Especially someone so unpredictable?"

"I'd like to try… I like him, and I think he likes me."

"I think he does too…" Marshall Lee sighed. "Listen, I can't tell you what you can and can't do and who you can and can't date, but… just do me one favor before you pick anyone, okay?"

"… Okay." Fionna's eyes seemed to shimmer as their gazes met, and he was given pause. Did he really want to tell her it was okay…? Despite what he really wanted to say…?

"Just… think really hard about it, and… be careful."

"I promise I will." Then, to his surprise, Fionna wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly. "Thanks Marshall…"

"Hey… what're friends for?" He tried to keep the hint of bitterness out of his voice before Fionna let him go and hurried off to go find Flint who, as she'd planned earlier, would be able to listen and enjoy the celebration from outside the walls. She'd promised to join him, and now, she had something important to ask. This left the Vampire King standing alone, his gaze following her until it fell to his guitar, and her flute laying across its strings. He wasn't sure what he felt, if he was jealous, hurt, or angry, because he didn't understand what he was feeling about the bunny-eared blonde as a whole.

_Why didn't you just tell her that, you idiot…?_

* * *

**_I delivered on the promise of some happy, but I immediately negated it with more feels... what can I say, I like feels and angsty Marshalls. Look out for part two coming soon, which will feature Fionna's question that she ran off to ask of Flint! Leave me a review and let me know how you're liking it!_**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**


	12. Night of Noise P2

_**Alternate Title:**__ Night of Silence Part 2_

**_Even if it is the annual Night of Noise, Marshall Lee has never been more silent about his true feelings. And even if he's not sure what he feels except confused and hurt, he won't say a word._**

* * *

Flint sat comfortably on the edge of the wall above the Candy Kingdom gate, looking down inside where the stage stood. Several other people had copied his idea, perching on the walls nearby for the incredible view. He'd been cheering and applauding all night and was glad when midnight came around and he saw what he'd come for in the first place; Fionna's flute solo. She had worked on it for weeks with Marshall Lee and pulled off the magicks in the tune perfectly, so well that it had created a dragon that was still flying high above the kingdom and spiraling in time to the music below. He'd been watching the dragon even since Fionna had finished as it swayed and drifted to a beautiful folk song played on Cake's hammered dulcimer.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw white bunny ears appear from the tower near him. He turned to see Fionna coming from the tower stairs, looking a little flushed either from embarrassment or exertion. Flint guessed the former, likely at the hands of Marshall Lee. Either way, he gave her a peaceful and motioned for her to join him. She sat as close as was comfortable, which was fairly close considering how calm and peaceful he was at that moment.

"Hi," she said softly, making Flint's smile soften.

"Hello yourself," Flint leaned back, his arms propping him up from behind. "That song was absolutely awe-inspiring, Miss Fionna. And the dragon has been lovely to watch."

"Thanks," she blushed a bit at his compliment. "Um… listen… I was talking to Marshall Lee…"

"Mhm?" He tilted his head slightly, his smile never fading even as she trailed off.

"And I asked him for some advice…"

Flint chuckled, "I shiver to think what advice you could possibly ask of the Vampire King."

"I asked him his opinion about seeing someone… y'know, dating."

"Oh?" She had his full attention then and he sat forward, feeling a slight pain in his chest at the idea that Fionna was thinking of seeing someone. "What did he say?"

"He told me to be careful and to think really hard about it, which I have been for a while… but he basically told me to go for it."

"…And?" Flint dreaded to hear her next words, so certain that her choice would be Prince Gumball.

"And I'm gonna. So… I was wondering if… maybe you wanted to have dinner sometime this week. That is, if you're interested at all."

Flint stared at her as if he'd been frozen solid. The only evidence that he hadn't were his flames flickering slowly brighter around him as a red blush colored his cheeks. "… As… as a date…?" He whispered, hardly daring to imagine it.

"Yeah. I mean… if you want it to be," Fionna added quickly, unable to meet his eyes.

"I would be honored," Flint's gentle tone had Fionna raising her gaze to his own. "I only wish I'd had the courage to ask you first, Miss Fionna."

Fionna let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, and she very nearly hugged him, but caught herself before she set herself on fire. Flint gave her another warm smile and she decided right then and there that she'd find a way to connect with him more deeply, even if it was just holding hands.

* * *

Marshall Lee left his position as MC to Gumball for an hour, telling the Prince that he needed to recharge a bit. He took Fionna's flute with him after she'd forgotten it beside his guitar, and he flew high into the massive candy tree that stood over the kingdom at the top of the palace. Quietly, he strummed chords on his guitar as he thought about what Fionna had told him, and what he'd said to her. He felt like a coward for not telling her how confused he was about his feelings when she'd directly asked his opinion, almost even his _permission_ to date Flint. Why did she ask Marshall Lee, of all people? Why not Cake? Or Gumball? _Or a freakin' normal person, for Glob's sake!_ He sighed angrily as he struck a sour note thanks to a string coming out of tune.

Twisting the tuning peg until it was perfect again, he strummed a G-major and began to hum. He thought about that annoying tune he still couldn't put words to, but it gave way to another.

_"It's not enough that we're near,_

_Because it feels like we're miles apart._

_It's not enough that you're here_

_When I'm not in your heart…_

_Fio-onna…. Fio-o-onna…_

_Why can't I get over you…?_

_What's wrong with me?_

_Why do I suddenly care?_

_A thousand years of nothing…_

_And suddenly, you're there._

_Fio-onna…_

Fionna…" He let the last note fade away as his chest squeezed in pain. What was this awful feeling? He knew what love felt like… didn't he? Why wasn't this the same? Laying aside his guitar to let it hang from a branch, Marshall Lee lifted his dark eyes to the nearly-full moon and the mist dragon racing across the skies. Then, he looked to Flint's glow on the walls, where he could barely make out the Flame Prince and the Hero of Aaa talking and enjoying themselves. So it'd gone well.

* * *

Marshall Lee didn't return to be the MC, leaving it to Gumball with the excuse that he was losing his voice and one of his strings had broken. Gumball knew it was a lie, and Marshall could see it, but Gumball was kind enough not to push it or pry. Marshall went home early, forsaking his most favorite holiday to be alone and away from the sight of the happy new couple. He settled in at home with his white cat Schwable on his lap, losing himself in a few movies til morning. He didn't want to think. Especially not about Fionna.

Flint and Fionna remained on the wall, talking animatedly about this and that once the original embarrassment and heart-fluttering had given way to their usual and casual ways. Flint was always the attentive gentleman and Fionna was the life of the conversation with the occasional random blurt about something vaguely related to whatever they were discussing. This went on until sunrise, when Gumball led the entire kingdom in the traditional Song of Sunrise to mark the end of the Night of Noise.

_O, sunrise, on another new day_

_In the land of Aaa-a-a._

_O, night, fade to another new day_

_In our land of Aaa-a-a._

_For the song is done_

_And the music is laid to rest._

_In the new lands of Aaa-a-a-a-a…_

_Of Aaa…_

* * *

**_That last song is actually a real song I wrote the music to. As soon as I have tableture and a recording, I'll leave a link on this chapter. Let me know what you thought, leave me a review!_**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**


	13. Mommy

**_Marshall Lee has never had a very good relationship with his mother, even though he tells his best friend how he always wished he had, in the best way he knows how: song. And when the woman he sings of comes knocking, all their troubles come right back._**

* * *

Marshall Lee let his front door swing open with a deep sigh as he entered, not even noticing his burns from staying outside too long on his journey home. He'd been back to the Nightosphere for the first time in… he wasn't sure how long. It was only to get a new set of strings for his guitar from his favorite demonic music shop, and he'd done all he could to avoid anyone he knew except for the shopkeeper who was an old friend. And even though he missed her (but wouldn't admit it) he'd avoided his mother as well. She was embarrassing, but he could've gotten over that if not for their past together.

She'd lost him in the mortal world thanks to a mortal opening a portal up to let out the evils of the Nightosphere to help his allies win the war. All he'd gotten out of it was his own death, and when Marshall's mother had come to seal the portal, he'd tagged along. Back then, he'd wanted to grow up to be just like her, and he was her perfect little boy. She gladly brought him, but when he jumped through the portal out of curiosity to see the mortal world, she hadn't realized it. The portal was sealed and she didn't know where he'd gone. He'd wandered for days, nearly starving before Symone Petrikov found him. It wouldn't be until after Symone lost her mind and became the Ice Queen that Marshall Lee discovered the spell to open the portal back up. But he didn't return until just before he'd become the Vampire King, which was when he was about nineteen. He'd gained his title in the Nightosphere, and that got his mother's attention. She came running, but he refused to let her near him.

The fight they'd had, even if it was only verbal, had shaken the Nightosphere like an earthquake and ended in Marshall Lee returning to the mortal world and, after he had gone, both mother and son breaking down in tears. He made his own way in the new land of Aaa when the first civilizations appeared from the wreckage. He was there when the kingdoms were first built and he terrorized them all for fun, but that was much later after he'd been an evil warlord and had gathered forces to cause all the fear and pain he could. His pranks on the kingdoms were entirely harmless most of the time. His warmongering days were bloody and terrifying even to himself. But very quickly, he discovered that wasn't at all what he wanted. In fact, he wanted to create, not destroy, but he had no outlet for it. He settled for pranks for a while and it became a hobby, but he went through pastime after pastime to try to find something to do that wouldn't hurt people and kept him entertained.

At about thirty years old, Marshall Lee had just found a new home when his mother sought him out and they reconciled. She gave him a family heirloom, a millenniums-old blood-red axe that he loved but he didn't like that it was a tool of destruction. They were on good terms for a while even if his mother was neglectful, until one day when Marshall decided to explore the ruins of a city he and Symone had once walked through and he found an old diner with frozen fries in a still-working freezer, and then a fryer that he'd found oil for. He'd always liked fries, so he decided to try making them. They'd turned out perfectly and he brought them out to eat. As an afterthought, in a sort of weird respect for the dead owners of the diner, he left money on the counter that he'd collected from the ruins. He stepped out to fetch his bag from outside, but when he returned, he found his mother there and she'd eaten his fries.

He'd overreacted and he knew it. It wasn't even about the fries, but they were the last straw. She'd been so thoughtless and neglected him constantly since they'd reconciled. He'd exploded at her and flew off, leaving her fumbling to apologize and tell him she hadn't realized they were his. He returned to the Nightosphere while she was terrorizing Aaa for souls, and he came across a music shop. Going inside with the family axe on his back, he looked at all the beautiful guitars and basses on the walls and made a decision. He loved the axe and he wanted a guitar, so he asked the shopkeeper if he could turn the axe into an electric guitar. It had taken nearly a week, but the shopkeeper succeeded and brought the axe guitar to Marshall Lee along with books of chord charts, music, and his own guitar to teach Marshall to play.

His name was Bertram Cotton and he'd become a dear friend thanks to how hard he worked to make Marshall Lee a musician. It was just what Marshall needed, and he spent a century perfecting his technique before he discovered he could write his own music at Bertram's suggestion. He learned to compose and even learned several other instruments to experiment with sounds. By the time two-hundred years had passed, he could play almost any stringed instrument, even a violin or stand-up bass. His favorite remained his guitar.

And now with his new strings, he was prepared for Fionna to come over that evening. It was the first time he'd see her aside from a short passing-by since the Night of Noise two weeks before. She'd been preoccupied with her new boyfriend Flint and Marshall Lee didn't intrude, even if he missed her.

He took a shower and settled into bed, but it seemed like he'd only just closed his eyes when he heard a knock on the front door and sat up to see it was almost sunset. It hadn't even felt like a second… He rose and opened his window and called down, "Door's unlocked!"

As Fionna entered, Marshall Lee grabbed his guitar and floated down the ladder to his living room. "Hey," he gave her a tired smile.

"Hiya," Fionna responded brightly, but her expression became worried. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just didn't sleep too well."

"If you say so. What'd you have in mind tonight?" She pulled her backpack off her back and pulled out her flute, which Marshall Lee had left at the treehouse the day after the Night of Noise, and an old tape recorder. Not many things had survived the Great Mushroom War, but the things that had were eventually recreated and those that hadn't were reinvented. Gumball had given this recorder, apparently once called a 'Walkman' to her.

"I want to record something kind of… personal…" Marshall Lee sighed. "So don't laugh at me," he added quickly.

"I only laugh at you when you're being stupid," Fionna gave him a reassuring smile.

"Alright… gimme a beat." At that, Fionna began beatboxing an even, medium rhythm, and Marshall listened for several beats to get a feel for the speed. With a low chord, he began.

_Mommy, why did you leave me?_

_You created me,_

_So don't you wanna see me?_

_Mommy, why did you make me_

_If you're not gonna take me_

_To get a burger and shakey?_

_My cursed blood is your cursed blood_

_Come on back and be my bud._

_I can count your visits on my fingertips._

_Come back and give me presents from your business trips._

_Mommy, why did you mother me_

_If all you wanna do is bother me?_

_Don't you know that I love you_

_And I only wanna see more of you?_

_Mommy, why did you eat my fries?_

_I bought them_

_And they were mine._

_But you ate them, you ate my fries,_

_And I cried_

_But you didn't see me cry._

_Mommy, do you even love me?_

_Well I wish you would show it,_

_'cause I wouldn't know it._

_What kinda mom eats her baby's fries_

_And doesn't even look him in the eyes?_

_Mommy, there were tears there._

_If you saw them, would you even care…?_

Marshall Lee didn't realize until the last notes of his guitar faded that Fionna had trailed off before the last two verses and she was now staring at him with a mix of pity and empathy. He didn't say a word, not even looking at her. He was waiting to hear her giggle at him. Him, the big bad Vampire King, singing about his mommy stealing his fries. But even if he wouldn't see it, Fionna understood that it wasn't about the fries. It was much deeper. And knowing that, she stepped forward to hug him tightly.

"What…?" He asked softly.

"You should talk to her."

"No."

"Marshall-"

"No. That's final."

Fionna said no more, and the two quietly traded songs back and forth for a couple hours, never really speaking, until a knock sounded on the front door. Marshall Lee raised an eyebrow and murmured, "Must be Cake… you told her you'd be here, right?"

"Yeah," Fionna nodded as Marshall went to open the door. When he did, he froze.

"… Mom?"

"Marshall, honey!" The Empress of the Nightosphere, in her smart and sharp black suit with her pin-straight long black hair, beamed at the sight of her only son, and she hugged him tightly. Marshall blushed as he found himself trapped in her embrace, and he saw Fionna smiling out of the corner of his eye. He quickly pulled away and looked at his mother with wide eyes.

"Wh-what the glob are you doing here?" Marshall Lee stuttered. "Aren't you supposed to be, like, running the Nightosphere or something?"

"I took a little time off to come see you. We haven't spent much time together lately."

"You mean in the past thousand years?"

"Marshall… it's not that I don't want to spend time with you, I'm just so busy-"

"Yeah, I know. You have an important job and no one else can do it. I know Mom, you've told me a million times."

"Well, I'm here now, so let's make the best-" but then she paused, seeing Fionna. "Oh, who's this?"

"My friend Fionna. You can't take her soul, Mom," Marshall warned her.

"It's a nice idea, but since she's your girlfriend-"

"_Friend._" He growled, even if he wished his mother were right.

"Ahem. Friend."

"Uh, hi," Fionna smiled a bit nervously. She knew the stories about the Empress of the Nightosphere.

"Hello, dear," the demonic woman smiled almost warmly, taking Fionna's hand to shake it. "Well, Marshall, aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Ugh… Mom, this is Fionna, the Hero of Aaa. Fionna, this is my mother, Helen Abadeer."

"Hi, Mrs. Abadeer," Fionna spoke as politely as she could.

"Please, call me Helen." The blue-skinned woman grinned before stepping back to look around the room. "I see you've made a nice little home for yourself. Where's your girlfriend?"

"I don't have one."

"What happened to Ashley?"

"Ashley was a _psychopath_,Mom."

"I know. I liked her."

"She sold my stuff and ruined everything!"

"She sold that dirty old teddy bear, that's all."

"That was my _favorite_ thing in the whole world, Mom," Marshall Lee snarled, fed up with how careless she was about his feelings. Helen knew she'd gone wrong and quickly turned to face Marshall.

"Honey, I didn't know-"

"I know you didn't, because you never listened! I told you a long time ago how much Hambo meant to me, how I got him after you _lost_ me!"

"It's not my fault that I didn't know you'd jumped through the portal, Marshall! I looked everywhere for you!"

"Obviously you didn't, because if you remember, it was _me _who came back to the Nightosphere after I figured it out on my own."

"You know I couldn't come back to the mortal world back then."

"Why?"

"Because of your father, and you know it." At that, Marshall Lee's gaze fell to the carpet and he went silent. "He was sick. I couldn't leave him on his own."

"… I know. Just… get out."

"What…?"

"_Go HOME!"_ He roared. Not only was Marshall hurt and angry that she didn't seem to care about his feelings, but now he was reminded of just why he'd been lost in the mortal world for so long and why his mother was all he had left. His uncaring, neglectful, thoughtless mother who, despite occasionally-good intentions, always made things so much worse.

"Marshall-" Fionna tried to intervene.

"No. It's alright, dear. I have work to do anyway," Helen spoke evenly, not showing her disappointment or heartbreak. "… Good night, Fionna. Marshall." Her son didn't respond, and she stepped out into the night.

"Marshall, she wanted to fix things. Couldn't you see that?" Fionna asked him softly as she took his arm.

"I know, but… she only makes things worse. That, on top of the fact that she's completely ignorant and never took the time to learn anything about me or listen. She didn't even know about Hambo…"

"… Who's Hambo?" Fionna questioned as if afraid he'd get angry.

"When I was seven years old, some idiot opened a portal to the Nightosphere during the Great Mushroom War. I went with my mom to watch her close it, but I got trapped on the wrong side when it closed. A woman named Symone Petrikov found me and took care of me. One morning after I had a nightmare, she gave me a pink teddy bear so I would never be alone while she was out exploring and looking for food and I stayed behind for safety. I named him Hambo… after Symone went crazy and left me, he was all I had til I found my way back to the Nightosphere, but hundreds of years later, my girlfriend Ashley sold Hambo to a witch and we broke up. I haven't seen him since."

"I'm sorry…"

"What're you sorry for?"

"That you're hurting so much." Fionna hugged him tightly, and he found that even though his first instinct was to pull away, he'd really needed it. Fionna always had a way of making him feel better.

But in the end, that night after she left for home, he only felt worse. He didn't want to be alone, but being a thousand-year old vampire with few friends and none who were up at night like him except occasionally Fionna, he was left entirely lonesome. His only solace was in his undead white cat, Schwable. He didn't sleep the next day, but come nightfall as he was lounging above the couch with Schwable on his chest, a tremor shook the entire house and made Schwable hop down and scurry for a hiding place. He sat up and flew over to the window to glance out. What he saw made his heart stop.

A huge creature stood above the grasslands, but he knew who it was by the black suit on its body and its white face with the vertical slit for a mouth. "Mom…" he whispered. He raced out into the night and high up to eye-level with his now hundred-foot tall monster mother.

"Mom! What the glob are you doing?!" Marshall cried.

Helen didn't even notice him and he dodged out of the way as white souls suddenly came from all directions and into her slitted mouth. So this was why she'd come. Not to see him, but to wreak havoc on Aaa. The thought was enough to leave Marshall Lee fuming, having thought she'd finally come just to see him, but he also felt a deep anger that she ruined everything around him. Every time he had a new home, she attacked the people nearby and left him in a wasteland.

He looked up from where he landed, literally shaking with anger, but he knew it was useless to try to do anything about it. He'd just have to move again… That was all he thought until out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fionna and Cake racing toward his mother to stop her. Marshall simply stepped back to watch in silence. Fionna would fail, he knew it, but he'd at least keep her from getting killed if required. And indeed it quickly became required as Fionna got herself caught in the web-like monster tentacles and lifted high up to have her soul sucked out. Marshall exploded into the sky, swiping Fionna from his mother.

"Don't take away my friends too, Mom," he snarled at his mother and set Fionna back down on the ground. To the surprise of both youths, Marshall was suddenly grabbed in Fionna's place and lifted up til he was eye-level with his mother. "Let me go!" He roared.

"Marshall Lee Abadeer, what has gotten into you! I know I haven't been around, but the way you're treating me is ridiculous!"

"I said let go! I don't wanna talk to you!"

"Not until you tell me-"

But then, below, a song stopped them both.

_Mommy, why did you leave me?_

_You created me,_

_So don't you wanna see me?_

"What is that…?" Helen asked over the music as she leaned down to see Fionna holding up her Walkman recorder.

_My cursed blood is your cursed blood_

_Come on back and be my bud._

_"_Is that you?" She looked to Marshall, who was blushing uncontrollably now, and he nodded only slightly. She said no more, listening closely.

_Mommy, why did you mother me_

_If all you wanna do is bother me?_

_Don't you know that I love you_

_And I only wanna see more of you?_

_Mommy, why did you eat my fries?_

_I bought them_

_And they were mine._

_But you ate them, you ate my fries,_

_And I cried_

_But you didn't see me cry._

_Mommy, do you even love me?_

_Well I wish you would show it,_

_'cause I wouldn't know it._

_What kinda mom eats her baby's fries_

_And doesn't even look him in the eyes?_

_Mommy, there were tears there._

_If you saw them, would you even care…?_

As the last note trailed off, Helen set Marshall Lee down and suddenly released all the souls she'd pulled in. Shrinking back to normal size and form, she looked at her son with a deep pain evident in her expression. "Marshall… honey, of course I love you, and of course I care. I didn't know that I upset you so much… I really didn't mean to."

"It's not just about the fries, Mom…"

"I know it isn't. Even I'm not _that_ thick-headed." She drew him into a tight hug, kissing his cheek. "I'll leave your little world be, sweetheart, and your friends." She then smiled to Fionna. "She's cute… You should keep her around. I like her." With that, she stepped back and opened a portal to disappear back into her own realm.

Marshall Lee turned to see Fionna looking somewhere between terrified and relieved, and he gave her an embarrassed smile. "Yeah… uh… that's my Mom. Crazy, right?" He simply chuckled as she keeled over backwards.

* * *

_**I've been excited since the beginning to introduce Helen Abadeer! I wanted her to be like Hunson, but a little more embarrassing in the department of 'Marshall, get a girlfriend so I can have grandbabies' because I can totally see that being a hilarious back-and-forth between them. Let me know what you guys thought, and maybe even what you might like to see in a future chapter!**_

_**P.S. Guess who got a Marshall Lee plushie and a bass guitar?! Rock on!**_

_**P.P.S. Hah, sweet. #13 is the chapter all about the Empress of Hell and her son. Haha!**_

_**-Taiylor Wallace**_


	14. The Danger (Season Title P1)

_**Part One of the Season Title: "The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark"**_

**_(A Note from the Author: So it begins!)_**

**_With the appearance of an unknown figure and a mysterious spiral horn protruding from a Moon stone, a terrible veil of impending death settles over the land of Aaa, even if the only people who know it are its heroes and their friends. Has the wish of the nuclear bombs from the war a thousand years past finally returned to haunt the world they were made to destroy?_**

* * *

Before the Great Mushroom War, mankind had made it to the Moon thanks to the invention of powerful rockets that reached such high speeds that they could break out of the Earth's gravitational pull and land on the Moon, then come back again. After humanity destroyed itself in the War, the land of Aaa was built up from its remains and no one since had been able to make it to space. Certainly, there were a few attempts (including one foiled by Cake and her strange Cosmic Owl dream) but the furthest anyone got was high into the atmosphere for skydiving.

However, a startling piece of information had come to the Candy Kingdom by way of a very shady figure that had suddenly appeared in the palace. He hadn't said a word when he attacked, but the item he left in Prince Gumball's hands after striking him was enough to make the candy royal panic when he awoke from a mysterious blackout and send a midnight messenger to the treehouse in the grasslands. Fionna and Cake were woken from a dead sleep by a frantic knocking at the door. With groans of annoyance and sluggish trudging, the two made their way down and opened up the door to see Peppermint Maid.

Fionna yawned hugely, "What's up, Pep Maid?"

"The Prince requires your presence at the palace!" She announced.

"It's like… midnight."

"Come quickly!" She insisted, hurrying back to Lord Monochromicorn who awaited them, having been sent to pick them up.

Fionna sighed and she dressed as quickly as her tired body would let her. Both she and Cake ended up falling asleep on Lord Monochromicorn's back on their way. When they arrived and awoke, they were surprised to see Marshall Lee, Flint, Dr. Prince, and a few other Princes there, all surrounding Prince Gumball. Dr. Prince was seeing to what seemed to be a blackened wound on Prince Gumball's arm. Fionna bolted toward the candy royal, pushing past Turtle Prince to kneel by Gumball.

"What happened?" She asked quickly.

"A cloaked figure came… he attacked me, and left _that_ behind." He motioned with his unhurt hand to a grey stone laying on the ground that no one would go anywhere near. The stone seemed almost to glow, reflecting the moonlight in a similar color to the Moon itself. From it protruded a spiraled and ridged object that looked like some kind of horn.

"… What is it?" Fionna stepped over to it

"Fionna, don't-!" Gumball lunged at her in panic, but he was too slow.

She touched the horn and suddenly, Fionna found herself in a black world, her breath ghosting in front of her. She was freezing, and her eyes grew wide and fearful as she saw a figure in the distance. It was wrapped in a ragged robe and as it turned to face her, she was met with a skull face and pale shredded skin with empty eye sockets, but in those black sockets were glowing green eyes. It had one spiraled horn, the other seemed broken, and on the top of its head lay a rusty crown. It exhaled in a growl and Fionna suddenly awoke in a soft bed with morning light filtering in through a window. Marshall Lee was asleep near her, hovering above a chair in an unlit corner. Flint was fast asleep on a fireproof blanket on the floor, and Gumball was pacing at the foot of her bed. Cake was curled into her side about the size of a normal housecat.

Fionna sat up slowly, feeling the immense chill still flowing through her body. "Gumball?" She asked softly as the candy prince's eyes turned to her. He sat down at her side, and she could see his wounded arm was wrapped up. "What happened…? How long was I out?"

"You touched the horn in the stone the night before last. We've all been watching over you in turns for more than twenty-four hours. Flint and Marshall Lee only just finally fell asleep for the first time as the sun rose." He laid a hand on her forehead, and though usually Fionna had found Gumball was much cooler than she, his skin felt pleasantly warm against hers. "You're still freezing… you collapsed and started convulsing. Dr. Prince thinks it was a seizure brought on by magic… the same thing happened to one of my guards when he touched it. You recovered much faster, though. He's still out."

"What was that thing?" Fionna murmured as Gumball stood to get her the glass of water from a table just out of her reach.

"It's the broken horn of the Lich Queen, a powerful, malevolent entity that came into existence when the last great bomb was dropped in the War a thousand years ago. She was born of the bomb's purpose: to destroy life. She's been dormant for some time now, after being laid low by Bella."

"Bella? You mean, _THE_ Bella? The greatest hero in Aaa?!" Fionna was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Yes. She broke one of the Lich's horns in their last encounter many years ago, but the Lich kept said horn even as she was imprisoned…"

"So… let's just get rid of the horn."

"Fionna, you don't understand," Gumball turned to her with the most grave and pained expression she'd ever seen from him. "Her horn fell to the earth from the sky. The stone around it is Moon rock. She escaped and got to the Moon. We never even knew she was gone, but this is a sign, most definitely sent on purpose. She's planning something, and the Moon is at the center of her scheme."

"What can she possibly do with the Moon?" Flint's voice came from where he lay. He'd been listening the whole time. "From what I understand about space, the Moon orbits the Earth, and even if it's smaller, it's still so huge that even an immortal sorcerer can't remove it from orbit. Nothing can."

"But what if that's not what she's trying to do?" Gumball faced the Flame Prince.

"What could she possibly do with a lifeless Moon?"

"I don't know…" Gumball sighed. "I must research the Moon's effects on the Earth. Until then, we need to remain vigilant for any signs of the Lich Queen."

"Will you guys shut up?" Marshall Lee grumbled, causing them all to turn to look at him. "I know this is a whole 'the fate of all life on earth' deal, but I need _some_ sleep."

"We'll just leave you then," Gumball growled, clearly not appreciating Marshall Lee's sarcasm and laid-back attitude at the moment. Normally he could take a joke with a huff of indignation, but he was too strung-out to think it was any kind of funny. As Fionna and Flint rose, Cake in Fionna's arms, Marshall Lee opened an eye to look at the Prince with some level of concern.

"You know I'm just kidding around, right, PG?"

Gumball sighed and rubbed his brow. "I know…" Marshall watched him go, and Fionna caught a split second of worry on the Vampire King's face.

Gumball spent all that day, until nightfall, studying the Moon and its connection with the Earth. In the end, all he could really come up with were ancient reports of humans making it to the Moon via rocket, and the fact that the world's tides were directly influenced by the Sun and Moon. Gumball dismissed this information quickly during his research, simply setting the notes aside. By the time Marshall Lee joined them, Gumball was lost and no closer to an answer. If anything, he was further away.

"So what'd you find out?" Marshall Lee asked him as he, Flint, Gumball, Fionna, and Cake settled on the path in the palace garden, each with some manner of drink except for Flint, who had settled for a snack of coal.

"Nothing… nothing at all…" Gumball sighed. "The Moon is simply a reflective celestial body that orbits the Earth and balances the tides between itself and the sun. I know the Moon is an important entity in magic, but really the only power from it is the moonlight, and the Lich Queen is certainly much more powerful than what moonlight can ever supply."

"What about werewolves and stuff?" Fionna offered.

"No, if anything, creatures of the night are Marshall Lee's territory and the Lich wouldn't want an army of living things, no matter how deadly."

"Zombies? Like my cat?" Marshall offered.

"Possibly, but they have no connection to the Moon except that they can only rise when the sun goes down."

"True…" Marshall Lee sighed.

"Prince Gumball?" Flint asked, and when the candy prince met his eyes, he inquired: "How do the sun and Moon affect the tides?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity."

"Well, apparently the tides rise and fall based on the magnetic pull of the sun and Moon. High tide occurs roughly right below the moon and on the opposite side of the world from it, and low tide occurs at the midpoint in between those two places. That is, very roughly speaking."

"So if the moon is directly overhead, it's causing the water to rise?"

"Yes."

"… What happens if the moon gets too close? Surely the pull is stronger if it's closer."

"Sometimes it can cause a massive destructive wave called a tsunami. The Moon does get closer and further away as the earth tilts on its axis while it orbits the sun during the course of a year, and also because the moon's orbit isn't perfectly circular-"

"Gumball…" Marshall Lee murmured but the prince didn't hear him. Gumball continued on about the variance of the distance between Moon, sun, and earth, while Marshall Lee met Flint's terrified gaze and Fionna's outright shocked and horrified look of realization.

"- and sometimes it's not possible to tell how far away it is because of the new moon, caused by the dark side being-"

"Gumball!" Marshall growled, making the prince pause.

"What? I'm explaining-"

"Tides, dude!" Fionna cried.

"The Lich is going to drown the planet!" Flint explained quickly, and Gumball's pupils shrunk to dots.

"Oh… my goodness…"

"But that wouldn't get rid of all life… what about people living on boats and all the fish and stuff? I mean, I've seen water villages and underwater cities," Marshall Lee offered, knowing they could survive such an apocalypse.

"But it's the Lich. Surely she knows that," Gumball insisted.

"What would happen if there was no moon?" Fionna asked quietly.

"… The ocean would calm. Currents would practically cease, and the sea would become… stagnant, for the most part. Creatures known and unknown would die… but… that's not even the worst of it. You see, while I was reading, the books mentioned that the moon is responsible for the Earth's perfect placement from the sun. With it, we orbit the sun in a particular belt-"

"The circumstellar habitable zone," Flint nodded, surprising all of his friends. "Scientists used to call it the 'Goldilocks Zone'. It's the perfect distance from the sun to support life without being too cold like Mars and beyond, or too hot like Venus and a planet that once existed called Mercury before the sun expanded and destroyed it. It's also what makes it possible for the planet to have gaseous, liquid, or solid water rather than only gases or ice, thus allowing it to support life."

"How do you know all this?" Gumball questioned.

"You have a lot of time to learn in three years of captivity, and it's handy that the Fire Kingdom has fire-proof books."

"Indeed. So, you must know what happens without the Moon."

"I do. The orbit of the planet would be thrown off without the counterweight, and the orbit would expand unevenly. Seasons would be completely unpredictable, the seas would freeze over being too far from the sun's heat. So many asteroids that we normally wouldn't come into contact with would hit and destroy the surface, and eventually, everything would simply be destroyed and frozen. Even the most powerful of magical beings would be killed if they didn't flee to other worlds, and it's quite possible that, with the destruction of the world, connected realms could be badly damaged as well, like the Nightosphere, Lumpy Space, and so on. All of the kingdoms in Aaa would cease to exist, and even the Ice Queen wouldn't be able to survive."

"Holy Glob…" Fionna whispered. The whole group was silent for several minutes, considering all they'd learned. Fionna looked between them all and bolted to her feet. "The Lich is gonna go mad-bonkers on the Moon and we're just _sitting_ here! Let's go kick some bony butt!"

"How?" Gumball asked simply, and Fionna fell silent. How could they ever reach the Moon? The only beings powerful enough to send them there with proper protection were evil or downright insane.

"Mom," Marshall Lee suddenly spoke, and they all stared at him as if he were insane. "Mom can get us there. She might not be powerful enough herself, but she's got friends and a lot of powerful people who owe her favors. We can ask her, I know she's gotta say yes if we tell her that the Nightosphere is threatened too and that the Lich is gonna kill everything. She might be evil, but she knows that without souls from Aaa, she's good as powerless."

"I'll leave that to you all," Gumball rose to his feet, and held up a hand before Marshall Lee could say anything. "Yes, I'm scared of her. But that's not why I'm staying. I have to warn the people and the other kingdoms. I hope perhaps our plight will call forth allies who can fight the Lich with us… And I will try to contact Bella. She still carries weapons that can affect the Lich Queen, and we will need her guidance as she has triumphed before."

Even though Fionna was just about vibrating with excitement to meet Bella, she forced herself to calm down and focus. They had to go to the Empress of the Nightosphere. But she secretly worried for Marshall Lee, who was facing the woman he loved and hated yet again, but this time he needed her help. Fionna could only wonder what Helen Abadeer would think of that, and whether or not Marshall Lee would be able to even swallow his pride and ask.

"C'mon, Fi," Marshall Lee shook her from her thoughts. She took up her place at Flint's side and they hurried toward the treehouse where they'd create and enter a portal to the Nightosphere. Flint and Fionna were a bit behind Marshall when Flint looked down at the girl who'd captured his heart.

"Fionna… whatever happens from here… I swear I'll protect you from the Lich Queen."

"Flint…" Fionna looked up at him worriedly. "Just… don't try to be a hero for me, okay? Don't do anything stupid."

"You're everyone's hero," Flint smiled softly. "It's time someone was a hero for you."

* * *

**_You KNOW I wasn't gonna forget the Lich, and I bet you figured out by now that this series isn't gonna be all cuddles and snuggles with some swords thrown in here and there. I'm starting to really develop the characters as I want them to be. Gumball, the mild-mannered, intelligent, and very responsible prince. Flint, the scholarly, nature-loving braveheart with a complex about his destructive powers. Marshall Lee, the emotion-bottling, golden-hearted, and very conflicted Vampire King. Fionna the (obviously) adventurous and freely-loving human. Cake, I'm not so concerned about fleshing out because we all know she's just a sassy kitty who loves everyone but is WAY overprotective when it comes to Fionna's life outside of battle and adventure._**

**_The Lich Queen is going to be fun for me, because I gotta say, even though the Lich King terrifies the hell out of me and I hate everything he stands for (because literally, he came from the wish of death on all living things), he's probably one of the best super-villains ever created. He's disturbing and unreconcilably (I'm making that a word) evil unlike any other villain in Adventure Time, who all seem to have some redeeming qualities or just plain laughable stupidity. The Lich King, as pitched originally by the AT crew, is NOT funny, and that makes him all the more terrifying, because he's never stupid or goofy. He's always serious, and he has genuine explosions of anger when his plans are thwarted rather than the funny 'run-around-into-walls-screaming-and-crying' way that other villains deal with defeat. And the fact that the Lich speaks in short sentences and uses such simple but terrifying phrases ('Are you... cold, Finn...?') makes him even more mysterious and dark. But above all, it's the fact that the Lich King doesn't pay any attention to anything but his goal to kill everything (even Hunson Abadeer and Flame King do things other than steal souls and make war)._**

**_The Lich Queen will be little different, but I think I'll throw a little bit of feminine charm with her. We all know that female villains have the added bonus of being able to charm men and perhaps motherly-sweet talk younger characters into submission. That, and I love the style of a lot of female villains who simply act like they're fully in control and know exactly what they want, which tends to make other characters submit out of sheer intimidation. Nothing's more intimidating than a really driven and focused woman when it comes to work or battle._**

**_P.S. Note that this season is actually titled 'The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark'. Those three titles will appear as chapters for the main storyline, and 'The Dance in the Dark' will either be the last or nearly-last chapter of this season. Pay attention to these titles, because I think you'll be surprised as to what 'The Duo' and 'The Dance in the Dark' are actually alluding to. (Hint: It's not Fionna and Cake, and it sure as hell ain't a ballroom dance)._**

**_P.S.S. I did a lot of research to make this chapter as scientifically accurate to the actual effects of the Moon on the Earth (seriously, if the Moon was obliterated into tiny pieces, the stuff I wrote could actually happen, plus Earth would have a ring like Saturn and rocks would rain inward from it constantly). However, I also did my best to make it equally accurate to the Adventure Time Earth, which is a thousand-ish years in the future from our own world and has seen the expansion of the Sun which destroyed Mercury, making the Earth the second planet from the Sun. This chapter was originally going to be named 'Mission to the Moon', but I realized if I was introducing the Lich and the first of her schemes to destroy all life on Earth, it fell into the Season Title and thus became 'The Danger'. Sexy, right?_**

**_See you guys soon with the next chapter! I'm feelin' inspired by my new bass guitar and Marshall Lee plushie. Let me know what you think in the reviews, I LOVE hearing from you guys!_**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**


	15. The Danger (Season Title P2)

_**Part Two of the Season Title: "The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark"**_

**_(A Note from the Author: Enter the Lich and the meeting of Ooo and Aaa!)_**

_**After seemingly realizing the Lich Queen's plan to destroy the Moon, resulting in the end of life on Earth, Fionna and her friends hurry to seek the council of Helen Abadeer, and are ultimately directed to Fionna's most beloved hero and role model. It seems time has not only aged Bella, but also made the Lich Queen far more clever.**_

* * *

"Mrs. Abadeer?" Helen Abadeer heard from behind as she absently tended to a vase of blood-red flowers before her on her dining room table. Almost no one outside the Abadeer family knew where their family home was, so Helen was shocked when she turned to see her son's blonde friend and several others standing before her.

"How did you find this place?" Helen's eyes narrowed. "Where is Marshall Lee?"

"He's coming right behind us," Fionna explained. Marshall had asked them to go ahead so he had a moment to prepare to meet his mother for the first time since she'd heard his song recorded on Fionna's Walkman. "He led us here. We need your help."

"And what makes you think I'd help you?" Helen asked more out of curiosity than anything else.

"… We'll explain once you talk to Marshall." Fionna made quick introductions between Helen and the others in attendance, Flint and Cake.

"Alright, then." Helen made her way past the group, giving Flint an odd look of interest as she went. A fire-being. Interesting. "Marshall?" She called gently as she stepped out onto the red rock that made up most of the Nightosphere. She saw her son there with his guitar on his back, hands shoved in his pockets, silently preparing to see her. When he finally looked up, Helen smiled. "Hello, sweetheart," she stepped up to kiss his forehead, making him blush slightly in embarrassment as his friends looked on. "What do you need, honey?"

"Mom… it's the Lich Queen."

Helen felt her entire body tighten up at that name. She knew who the Lich was- the horrid creature had been a thorn in her side for some time after the War, but Helen had never considered her much more than an annoyance, certainly no threat. "What about her?"

"She's gonna destroy the Moon and the Earth with it."

"… She is, is she? Do you have proof?" Helen growled. She didn't need to be reminded that Earth was her source of souls, but more importantly, Aaa was her son's favorite place across any realm. Little as he thought she paid attention, she did know that he loved Aaa and his dearest friends lived there.

"Cake?" Marshall looked to the cat who had brought a box with the Lich's horn and the moonstone inside. She opened it up to show Helen, and the Empress quickly looked away from it at one glance.

"I see…"

"Yeah. So… we need help. Like, now."

"I don't think I can reach her if she's already on the Moon, honey," Helen sighed.

"But…?"

"But I do know that someone your friends know has the Enchiridion."

"… What's that old book going to do for us?" Fionna asked with a raised eyebrow. "I get that it's the manual of heroes, but… it was kinda useless after a while."

"The Enchiridion shelters a secret portal that leads outside the universe to a convergence of the multiverse. That is, if you know how to get there.

"Where is the book, Fionna?" Flint asked the heroine beside him.

"I… Cake and I gave it to Bella."

"Perfect! It's safe and in the right hands. We can go back and ask her for it!" Flint smiled. "We'll beat the Lich yet!"

"Hold on," Helen raised a hand. "I warn you all, only because you're Marshall's friends, the Lich is the greatest master of tricks that has ever existed. She will do anything to thwart you. She has no empathy, and no known weakness. It's been a long time since Bella vanquished her the first time, and though I'm sure Bella could do it again, it will be much harder now that the Lich has had so long to plan and learn from the shadows… Be very careful."

"Thanks, Mrs. A," Fionna nodded and Helen opened up a new portal for them Marshall Lee let the others go first, making sure they weren't looking when he embraced his mother tightly, but Fionna glanced back and smiled secretly at the sight. They were headed back for the candy palace when suddenly the very heroine they were off to meet blocked their path.

Bella had once been a powerful young warrior, the finest in Aaa, known for her flowing red hair and her cosmic gauntlet. Her fame had truly been solidified when she'd vanquished the Lich Queen, but she'd disappeared for a long time to escape her fame. Fionna had met her before, but the bunny-eared blonde was practically vibrating with excitement to see her. "Bella!" Fionna cried happily, bouncing up and down with Cake. "We were on our way to see you!"

"Hello, Fionna, Cake," the tall woman spoke calmly, then she nodded to Flint and Marshall Lee. "Prince Gumball called for me, he said the Lich Queen has come back."

"Yeah, look! We have proof!" Fionna took the box from Cake and opened it up to show Bella. She squeaked in surprise when Bella suddenly took the horn from the box. "No, don't!"

But Bella examined it easily, looking entirely unaffected. Fionna stared at her with wide, fearful eyes. Bella glanced back down at her and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Are you… okay?"

"I'm fine. Why?"

"Last time when I touched it, I passed out for a whole day…"

"She's not strong enough to do that to me. Plus I have my gauntlet," Bella tapped the metal glove and Fionna's smile grew huge with absolute wonder and admiration.

"Well… we need the Enchiridion," Marshall Lee spoke up. "Apparently it can open some kind of portal."

"It can. I have a plan. We're going to open the portal and I'm going to push the Lich in so she gets lost between universes." The entire group looked between one another, all smiling at the idea. All they had to do was push the Lich in, right?

"What do we have to do?" Fionna spoke up boldly.

"We need the crystals of power from the crowns of the rulers of Aaa."

"Alright," Flint nodded. "Marshall Lee and Cake, you take the west half of Aaa. Fionna and I will take the east."

"And why the heck do you think I'm goin' with Mr. Bloodsucker?" Cake demanded.

"You can shelter him from the sun better than either of us can," Flint reasoned. Cake had to admit that was sound logic and though Marshall Lee wanted to argue that he only needed an umbrella, he remained silent. Bella remained in wait for the two groups as they split up, and though it took them a full three days to gather eight gems, they returned to find Bella right where they'd left her. Both groups were exhausted, having slept and ate little. They stopped to take a break as the sun set on the third day as they examined the crystals they'd collected. Eight in total, Fionna figured Prince Gumball would be more than willing to give the ninth.

"So, Bella, how's this whole portal thing gonna work?" Cake asked out of the blue.

"We'll put the last gem in and use the portal to get to the Moon, then once we're there, we'll push the Lich in and along the portal highway, we'll push her off the track and she'll be lost outside of the multiverse," Bella explained as if it were so easily. Fionna believed it would be, but Marshall Lee silently harbored a few doubts. Sure Bella was strong, but if just the Lich's horn could affect people, he wondered how badly the Lich in person could affect them.

After they finished eating, Flint and Marshall Lee waited outside while Fionna and Cake went inside to Prince Gumball's room. Fionna knocked on the ajar door, finding Gumball poring over a book. "PG?" She asked. "We gotta plan with Bella, come on out!"

Gumball rose with a relieved smile. "Thank goodness." He followed her out, but just as they neared the group, Fionna began to explain what Bella had said.

"We're gonna put all the Princes' crown gems into the Enchiridion an-"

"Wait, what?" Gumball suddenly stopped short.

"It's gonna open up a portal…" Fionna said quietly. "We'll go to the Moon and we'll push the Lich in so we can kick her out of the multiverse."

"Fionna… no, no, that'll let her into-"

"Quickly, Fionna!" Bella called. "The Lich Queen is controlling his mind!"

"But-"

"Fionna, no!" Gumball tried to pull away as the confused heroine lunged for his crown. When she got hold of it, he shoved her away and she took it with her. She fell to the ground and stared up at Gumball with an absolutely shocked and hurt expression. "Th-… that was an accident…" Gumball told her softly. When she bolted to her feet and took off running toward Bella, he lunged after her. "_NO!"_ He caught Fionna's sleeve, but she had already thrown the crown to Bella. Bella ripped the gem from the golden circlet and opened up the front of the Enchiridion by turning the little sword. The eight gems levitated from their place in front of Flint and flew into their respective places in the face of the compartment in the book, and Gumball's gem joined them last.

Bella threw Marshall Lee and Flint aside despite the burn left on her arm, and that was when Fionna finally realized something was terribly wrong. "She's the Lich!" Gumball cried, letting Fionna go. The little doors on the front of the book slammed shut just as Marshall Lee regained his composure from the dizzying blow, and barreled into Bella. Flint, from where he'd sat up on his knees in the grass, shot a fireball at Bella after she'd fallen, and she screamed in pain as it tore into her face, lifting her hands to cover it. The Enchiridion fell at Fionna's feet, but she looked on as Bella's body relaxed and she lowered her hands to reveal half of her face burnt off. Rather than blood and blackened muscle, there was only white skull beneath with a spiraled horn protruding from the side, and a green pupil. The world grew suddenly black for everyone in the group.

Fionna saw her breath ghost before her as a familiar chill settled over her. The Lich Queen looked on with her dark gaze through one green pupil and one lifeless eye that had once belonged to Bella. "Well done, child…" she spoke in a deep, purposeful tone while Fionna's knees gave out and she fell to the ground on all fours. "You've given me the key to not only the extinction of life in your own realm… but across the multiverse. Very well done, child."

Fionna let out a pained exhale, looking down as the Enchiridion's tiny sword sliced a line all around the entire book, and it turned to brown stone. She found the strength to reach out and grab it, slamming it down against the ground.

"No!" The Lich shrieked, bolting forward, but Fionna kept smashing away with the book-turned-to-stone, and just before the Lich touched her, the stone tablet shattered. The blackness around Fionna cleared and she saw her friends curled into balls, laying silently on the ground. Flint had turned completely blue, and Marshall Lee had tears coursing down his face from pain. The Lich began to chuckle, and Fionna looked up to see that a starry, black portal had formed.

"Oh, Glob…" she whispered, realizing that this too had been a part of the Lich's plan.

"You have my sincerest gratitude, Fionna the Human…" the Lich Queen said as she stepped toward the portal. Fionna bolted forward to catch her leg, but the Lich didn't seem to care. As she was dragged along, Fionna sought any handhold possible.

"Cake!" She called out to her sister who was slowly coming to. Gumball grabbed onto Fionna's waist as he managed to get ahold of his own mind, and a weak Cake was next to grab on. Marshall Lee managed to reach out to catch Flint's arm with one hand, and Cake's foot with the other. The entire group was dragged through the portal, and Fionna passed out when the Lich glanced back at her once more, sending a chill over her body once more.

In her dreams, she saw a pink shadow-person asking the Lich Queen what her wish was, and the Lich smirked with half of Bella's face and spoke clearly and evenly; "I wish for the extinction of all life across every dimension and realm." Then beside the Queen appeared what seemed to be almost her… twin. But this one was dressed in the skin of an old man who looked very similar to Bella. The two looked each other up and down, smirked, and entered a portal made by the shadow-person together. And vaguely, as she began to come to, Fionna remembered seeing a familiar boy, several years younger than herself with a white bear-hat and a yellow dog beside him, speaking to the shadow-person with their own wishes before disappearing into their own portals. She saw no more until she woke to see that shadow-person with the big blue eye looking down at her from the wall he was cast upon. He wasn't really a shadow, rather a two-dimensional figure molded to the walls and floor. Fionna lifted her head slowly to see the mysterious figure smile, and she saw Flint had fallen beside her. Thankfully he was regaining his flame quickly.

"Who… who are you…?" Fionna asked in a raspy voice, looking up at the figure again.

"I am Prismo, Wish-Master and keeper of the center of the multiverse," he announced as the others began to come to.

"The Lich… where did she go? Who were those people?" Marshall murmured.

"The Lich Queen and the Lich King wished for the extinction of all life everywhere, so they entered into the reality made by their wish," Prismo explained.

"No…" Fionna stood with her sister and Gumball's help. "We have to stop her…"

"As for the other two, they are a boy and his dog from a parallel universe to your own fighting the Lich King. As for the Liches' wish… You can always make a wish that cancels hers out. You earned one and only one wish by coming to seek me."

"Fionna… think hard about this," Gumball warned her softly. Fionna looked to Flint, and at his nod, she looked up to the Wish-Master.

"I wish… the Lich had never existed."

* * *

_**Do I even need to say anything? Being that Fionna's life is different from Finn's, her encounters with the Lich Queen are gonna be a little different from Finn's with the Lich King, so I decided that her first meeting with the Lich shouldn't be like those in 'Mortal Folly' and 'Mortal Recoil', but rather, the second big altercation with the introduction of Prismo. And no, Prismo is not gender-bent, because Aaa is the parallel to Ooo, and therefore part of the same multiverse. Finn and Jake were too focused on their task to see the others appearing in Prismo's room, and didn't see the Lich Queen enter just before the King.**_

_**And there may end up being a reason why I have both Liches, but I'm not sure yet. Let me know what you guys think! Leave me a review!**_

_**P.S. Sorry this one took so long to get out, I had to work out the plot correctly to include Helen- there's a reason for it.**_

_**-Taiylor Wallace**_


	16. The Duo (Season Title P3)

_**Part Three of the Season Title: "The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark"**_

**_(A Note from the Author: Can you guess the 'duo' of this chapter? I promise it's not obvious, but they're super important to the Farmworld timeline. Onward to the pain! Wee!)_**

**_Fionna Mertens is the daughter of a farmer and a resident of Junktown, an average tomboy, but with a mechanical arm thanks to her reckless ways as a little girl. When her family is threatened by the Destiny Gang, she goes off to sell a friend, only to discover an ancient secret and what seems at first to be the answer to her problems. But... the crown is only a nightmare for all who touch it._**

* * *

"Fionna! Fionna, come in here, please!"

The young blonde sighed heavily. "Mom sounds pretty steamed… guess I donked something up again. C'mon, Cake."

"Mrrraoow!" Her little brown-spotted white cat answered, following close behind as Fionna, having been playing her flute, rose to go inside her family's little farmhouse. There, she found her mother cradling her baby brother, Finn, and Fionna found a very worried expression on her mother's normally-smiling face.

"What's up, Ma?" Fionna asked quietly.

"Honey… I need you to go to the market and sell the mule."

"But Mom!" Fionna cried. "I love Berry, she's like one of my best friends!"

"Honey, please…" The blonde woman turned to the window, and beyond, Fionna saw what had her mother so worried. Her kindly old father was facing three members of the Destiny Gang, a group of ruffians who regularly terrorized Junktown and its surrounding area including the Mertens Family farm run by Fionna's parents. "We need the money to stop the gang…"

"… Okay…" Fionna murmured as she saw her father pushed to the ground. She turned, Cake on her heels, and headed for the barn. Berry was their only mule and had been around Fionna's entire life like a big dumb auntie who smelled like hay, but Fionna loved her all the same. Taking a lead rope from the barn wall, Fionna approached and looped it around Berry's neck. "Come on, Berry. Time to go to town." She climbed on the mule's back with Cake in her lap, and they set off for Junktown Market. Along the way, Berry suddenly paused.

"Hey," Fionna patted Berry's shoulder. "Come on, we gotta get to town." But the mule suddenly bolted. Hitting the ground, Fionna saw stars for a few seconds. When she finally looked up, she found Berry up in a dead tree. "What the hey, mule!" Fionna exclaimed. "Get down from there!" She rose and made her way toward the tree, and in trying to step over a low bush, Fionna slipped with a yelp, and was falling down into a hidden hole with Cake clinging to her backpack. When Fionna sat up and rubbed her then twice-bumped head, she gasped to see a giant metal object, frozen in ice coming down from the ceiling of the little cavern, and beneath it was an ancient skeleton with a golden crown on its head. "A crown!" Fionna cried excitedly. "We can sell that and save Dad _and _Berry!" She rose and reached for it, but a dark, cloaked figure appeared from the shadows with a snarl. Fionna was met with the aged face of a blue-skinned, black-haired, point-eared old man wielding a black gun out from his cloak.

"Back off, human!" The old man spat. "Leave Symone in peace!"

"Whoa," Fionna whispered. "Uh… I'm not gonna disturb Symone. Promise. I'm just gonna ta-"

"_NO TOUCHING!_ Dark magic, very evil!" The old man hopped up and down as he shouted at her.

"Dude, magic is fake. Daddy says it's all parlor tricks used by nubs to control people and get babes, like ten hot babes each."

"Magic is real! You stupid humans just forgot about it!"

"You're human too, man, even if you look weird."

"I'm a half-demon and I'm a thousand years old! I saw this world nearly destroyed when I was only a child! If it weren't for you filthy mortals… Symone would still be alive! She saved this unworthy planet at the cost of her own life!"

"You… are nuts," Fionna reached for the crown again.

"NO!" The old man pulled the trigger on the black gun, and Fionna shrieked in terror as the red laser beam fired out straight at her… and straight through her. Harmless. "Augh!" The man growled. "Blasted thing…" he smacked the gun a few times, but immediately jumped in front of Fionna when she tried again to take the crown. "Don't touch it! That crown make Symone crazy and it'll do the same to you!"

"Who the heck is Symone, anyway? And who are you?" Fionna crossed her arms.

"My name is Marshall Lee… as for her… Symone Petrikov…" the man sighed and closed his eyes as he lowered his head. "She was human once… until she bought the crown from a Scandinavian dock worker. The first time she wore it, it took over her mind. She grew more and more insane as the Great Mushroom War set in, until she found me when I'd gotten separated from my mother. She took care of me, saved me from the horrors of the War… that was, until the day the planes came…"

* * *

"Marshall! Get under cover, honey!" Symone pushed the little demonic boy toward a tree hollow.

"Symone!" Marshall Lee cried, "You promised!" But it was too late, Symone had already donned the ice crown and stood atop the lone hill amid the ruined city, facing the incoming bomber planes. Shells fell all around them, but Symone was focused on the largest plane, a massive carrier that was holding what had, before the war, been rumored to be the most destructive bomb ever imagined. It'd only been a concept on paper before the war, but now at the height of the death and violence, its production had been rushed and it was now very real. The Manhattan Project that had destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki was like a child with a magnifying glass compared to this killer. It was the first nuclear bomb, nicknamed 'Cloud' for the mushroom clouds its tiny predecessors had created. Cloud would not only create a mushroom-shaped explosion, it would rain down nuclear fallout and debris across the world.

Symone had to stop it. If not for the self-doomed human race, then for the teary-eyed little boy behind her, begging her to take the crown off. The last thing she remembered before the icy grip of the magicks took over her mind was Marshall Lee's arms wrapping around her leg as he clung to her. "For him…" she whispered.

* * *

Marshall Lee sniffled quietly, wiping tears from his eyes. "If she'd only had longer with the crown, even if it made her insane, her power would've been complete enough to stop the bomb and still live… but she didn't have enough strength. She froze it, and it crushed her to death… the crown was so upset by losing its master that it cast the world into a four-hundred year Ice Age, and it's been six-hundred years since that freeze ended… I've been here protecting the crown the whole time."

"Stop saying all this crazy junk," Fionna said slowly. "No way any of that happened. Daddy said the real 'Cloud' bomb was a dud and the war ended because the earth got all freezy, so people stopped fighting so they could all survive."

"_LIES!" _ Marshall Lee screeched, but he stumbled as he threw his hands up in the air and Cake ran between his feet. Fionna took the chance to grab the crown as Marshall threw the gun (poorly) at Cake. "Bad beastie!"

"C'mon, Cake!" Fionna called, scampering up and out of the hole. Cake was right behind her and they took off riding on Berry. Fionna held on tight, the crown clenched in her metal hand and against her stomach to make sure she didn't drop it. Within the hour, she was in the middle of the village trying to sell the crown. "Golden crown with rubies, people! C'mon, it'll look great on you! I promise it just belonged to an old dead lady!

"I'll take it!" A man called out.

"How much can you offer?" Fionna smiled.

"Oh…" the man began to twiddle his thumbs. "I'm poor… but I can give a concert at your house! Like a whole four songs! I do mostly covers, but I've got some originals. What do you say?" He beamed as if he were sure she couldn't resist. Fionna just stared at him blankly until suddenly, the crown was pulled from her hand.

"Hey!" Fionna turned to see one of the Destiny Gang, the lackey Tromo, giggling away as he stole the crown. "Give that back! I found that, it's mine!"

"Property of one-arm go to Big Destiny," Tromo explained teasingly and turned. "Hey boss!" Not too far away, the leader of the Destiny Gang stood facing away. Tromo tossed the crown and Big Destiny caught it easily.

"A crown? Huh?" He turned to look at his lackey. "You tryin' to tell me what to wear?!"

"No, boss! You tell _us _what to wear! I just thought you'd like it!"

"Psh, if you were in charge of what I wore, I'd look like a total dork!"

"No way you could ever look like a d-"

"Shut your face! Bam! Crown shorts!" Big Destiny stuck one of the tips of the crown into his too-short shorts and Tromo and the other gang members clapped and hollered in approval, yelling at the locals around them to do the same. When one old lady wasn't quite quick enough, Tromo kicked her.

"Clap harder!"

The woman, crying silently in pain, clapped as quickly as she could while she lay curled in a ball on the ground. Tromo looked to Fionna. "Clap!"

"No way! That's mine!"

"It's _MINE!_" The voice of Marshall Lee made them all look to the old man who'd appeared out of nowhere. He was panting heavily from the long run following Fionna and Cake.

"Tromo!" Big Destiny growled. "Jack up the crazy guy! Trami! Take the mule back to the crib for din-din!"

One of the other gang members bolted out and grabbed Berry's lead, tugging her away. When Fionna tried to stop him, Trami pulled out a hammer from his belt and struck her across the face with it. Fionna fell and Cake hissed as Trami ran off toward the lift at the end of town that would take him, Berry, and Big Destiny up to the gang's mansion on a hill overlooking Junktown.

"Later, one-arm!" Big Destiny laughed as he went. Fionna sat up slowly and watched hopelessly. "Berry…'

"Augh!" she heard Marshall Lee cry as he was thrown to the ground by Tromo. Fionna rose and pulled her flute from her bag, ramming it up Tromo's nose when he turned to face her. When a head of lettuce struck Tromo hard in the back of the head, he began to retreat. Fionna saw the fellow attacker was the local rhyming merchant, Choose Bruce. Tromo backed off with a mumbled warning.

"You're gonna pay…"

"Destiny gang get outta town! We're sick of being bullied around!" Bruce shouted.

"You tell Big D," Fionna growled. "My name is Fionna Mertens, and I'm comin' for my stuff!"

"Oh, you just try," Tromo snapped as he dodged another head of lettuce and ran for the mansion.

"Fionna," Choose Bruce stepped up to the girl. "If you're gonna lay down the hurtin', you'll need this for certain!" He held up a box he'd fetched from his shop.

"What is it, Choose Bruce?" Fionna tilted her head and opened up the box.

"It's a weapon for your arm! With this you will defend from harm!" Inside lay a blade. Bruce pulled it out and, taking Fionna's metal arm, replaced her grabber hand with the sword.

Swinging it a few times to test, Fionna smiled to herself. "It feels natural… Like sucking your thumb. Kind of."

"Best not to take the lift, my friend," Choose Bruce warned as Fionna looked back to him. "Else the Destiny Gang will see you comin' in!"

"No," Fionna turned to look up at the mansion. "I want them to see me. I'm gonna go up there _AND SHOW THEM MY FACE!"_ She charged across town and up the lift, and when she reached the doors, she kicked them in. "_DESTINY GANG! I'M HERE FOR-_" but then she stopped. The whole place was silent and empty. Where were they?

Fionna heard a braying coming from another room."Berry!" She hurried to the door. Charging through, she was tripped by the outstretched leg of none other than Big Destiny himself. "Gimme my stuff back, you big lump!" Fionna cried as she rose to attack the gang leader. With pure ease, Big Destiny threw her aside.

"You want Big D's crown?" He smirked.

"Yeah! And Berry!"

"Here ya go, then," Big Destiny tossed the crown at Fionna's feet and motioned toward Berry in the corner, completely unharmed.

"Wh-… what?" Fionna's expression grew confused. "Why…?"

"Consider it your last possession," Big Destiny turned to the window. "The last thing you'll ever own.

"What… do you mean…?" Fionna rose as he turned away.

"Look down there, stupid," Big Destiny pointed out the window before disappearing from the room. Fionna approached the window as Cake joined her side. Below the mansion, Fionna's eyes filled with terror and tears as she same flames engulfing Junktown. Bolting from the mansion on Berry's back, they hurried down to the village to find Choose Bruce on his knees before his shop, crying pitifully.

"Choose Bruce!" Fionna called, and the merchant looked up with a gasp.

"Fionna, thank heavens you're well! The gang set fire to the town and my shop as well! All my stuff is gone! Now they're going after your home!"

"Berry, come on!" Fionna shrieked, hurrying Berry into a gallop.

"Hurry, little bunny!" Choose Bruce called out the nickname the town had called Fionna as she'd grown up. "You can still save your mummy!"

Along her way, Fionna saw Marshall Lee up ahead, limping back to his hole. "Marshall Lee!" She shouted ahead. He paused and turned, only to be scooped up onto Berry's back with a yelp.

"Fionna! Return th-"

"I will, but first I gotta save my family!"

The scene Fionna came upon truly horrified her. The Destiny Gang, now joined by Big Destiny, was tossing torches at her family's farmhouse, and she could hear her mother and father inside screaming for help and her little brother crying. Fionna stared into the flames as she dismounted from Berry's back, and she drew the ice crown from her backpack. "… You said this was magic, right…?"

"Yes. Powerful and very dangerous," Marshall Lee nodded as he too climbed down.

"But you're totally bonkers."

"Even if I am, I remember what happened when Symone used that crown!" Marshall hissed.

"… I believe you."

"No one ever bel-… wait… you do?"

"Yeah," Fionna murmured as she lifted the crown.

"No! No, wait!" But it was too late. As the crown touched to Fionna's head, everything went black and Fionna's conscious mind fell to the power of the crown. She blasted the house with her newfound magicks, creating a safe passage through the flames for her family, and as they fled, she attacked the Destiny Gang until they all lie wounded and frozen except for Big Destiny. He fought back, and it was just as the hammer that he'd taken from Tromo's bloody hands, chipped and now sharp, tore into Fionna's belly that it simply became too much.

* * *

"Stop this! No more!" Flint cried at Prismo as the two, accompanied by Cake, Marshall Lee, and Gumball, all watched Fionna's wish pan out. They were safe from the effects of the wish in Prismo's Time Room, but if they left, they would become part of that world like Fionna had.

"This is how it is now, seeing as the Lich never existed," Prismo explained. "The only thing that can change it now is-"

"Another wish!" Flint cried. "I wish Fionna's wish had never come true!"

"But-"

"_NEVER CAME TRUE!_" Flint roared, exploding like never before out of pain and fear for the girl he loved.

"Flint!" Marshall cried, but it was too late.

"Alright, alright…" Prismo sighed, opening up a portal to the reality of Flint's wish. "Here you go." But he'd hardly spoken when Flint raced through the portal.

* * *

He pulled as hard as he could, holding onto Fionna with the help of Cake, Gumball, and Marshall Lee, trying to stop the Lich going through the portal made by the Enchiridion. But at the last moment, the Lich paused, and kicked Fionna back through, and the portal closed.

"Oh, Glob…" Gumball whispered, and the entire group was momentarily blinded by a bright flash, and deafened by words ringing out across the world.

"_THE EXTINCTION OF ALL LIFE!" _

Once they could see again, they all looked up to see the Moon growing larger… no, not larger… being blown apart from the inside. It shattered across the night sky, and it was only minutes before fiery grey pebbles began raining down from the sky, pieces of the destroyed celestial body.

"She… she really did it…" Fionna murmured, then looked to Flint, who was looking at her. "We… we're gonna die… Everyone's gonna die…"

"But we won't die alone…" Flint told her softly, wishing he could reach out and hold her like a proper boyfriend should. "I'll be with you, Fionna…"

Marshall Lee looked across the group, terrified as they all were, and he felt a deep sadness settle into his chest. "Wait… wait, guys, we can escape! Come on, we can go to the Nightosphere!"

"Marshall… she wished for the extinction of all life…" Gumball told him sadly. "That includes the Nightosphere too…"

"No… No! I'm not giving up!" Marshall roared, and suddenly exploded into the sky despite the danger of the falling grey meteorites, racing toward the person he'd once run to for help as a little boy: Symone Petrikov.

* * *

_**Oooh, that last bit was painful to write... What do you guys think of my take on Farmworld? I eighty-sixed the 'Jake the Dog' (or in this case, 'Cake the Cat') part of Farmworld in the interest of the fact that it really wasn't required for my plans for the next chapters. I also wanted to give Flint the chance for his wish. It hurt so badly to see Fionna the way she ended up, not to mention probably fatally wounded, that he thought of nothing but saving her from her own wish, thus dooming the multiverse once again to the Lich's wish. Love makes you do crazy things, and sometimes not the right kind of crazy. I'll get to work on the reality of Flint's wish.**_

_**Can you guess who the first 'duo' is? It might surprise you.**_

**_It's actually Symone and Marshall, because Symone's crown and Marshall's guarding over it is at the center of Farmworld's existence. Oho, clever, aye? Let me know what you guys think, and see if you can guess who the 'duo' from the next chapter will be!_**

**_-Taiylor Wallace_**


	17. The Duo (Season Title P4)

_**Part Four of the Season Title: "The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark"**_

_**(A note from the Author: This is definitely the most heart-wrenching chapter of anything I've ever written in the history of my writing career... I need to snuggle with my Marshall plushie before I go onto the heartbreak of the next chapter...)**_

_**Endless winter has come. All that anyone in Aaa can do is cling to their loved ones and pray for a good existence in the afterlife. Feelings and memories come to the surface to make the most of the last days, as extinction's icy fingers grasp all life across the multiverse.**_

* * *

"Symone! Symone where are you!" Marshall Lee cried as he flew into the window of the home mountain of the Ice Queen. "Symone!"

"I told you to quit calling me that!" The Ice Queen growled as she emerged from another room with a dark frown. "And who said you could just waltz into my crib, man?" She was rendered silent when Marshall bolted forward and hugged her tightly around the waist, burying his face against her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow. "… What're you doing?"

"It's over, Sy… the Lich won…"

"The Lich? As in the Lich Queen? Wasn't Prince Gumball calling for help to fight her?"

"Yeah… but we couldn't stop her… she went to a Wish-Master and wished for the extinction of all life… the moon exploded, Symone. The earth is gonna get thrown out of orbit and we're all gonna freeze to death soon." Marshall lifted his head to see her entirely skeptical expression.

"… I wondered what that weird voice was earlier. Listen, bat-boy, I'm the Ice Queen. I'm not gonna die. Everyone else, maybe, but my penguins and I will be perfectly fine."

"You don't get it, Symone," Marshall Lee's hands balled into fists in her collar. "Everything is going to _die._ All the plants, all the animals… if you do survive the cold, you'll starve to death or suffocate when all the food and air runs out, not to mention all the meteors and how the seasons will go crazy! The planet could fly into the sun instead of drifting away!"

"Whoa…" Symone stepped away from Marshall to sit down in her icy recliner. "So… why'd ?"'/you come here, then?"

"You don't remember a thing… you don't even remember the song we made a few months back?"

"Oh, that cheesy 'I Remember You' song? Yeah I tried that on Wildberry Prince, he was horrified…" Symone sighed in exasperation.

"It wasn't a song for you to use to flirt with Princes!" Marshall Lee growled. "It was about us! It was the letters you wrote on the back of pictures, especially the picture of me when I was little! I came here to spend time with the woman who became my mother when I was lost!"

"Dude, I don't remember any of that junk. Now shoo. I have food to stockpile," she rose to head for the window, but Marshall Lee caught her around the waist from behind, burying his face against the middle of her back. "Let go, weirdo!"

"Please… Symone… come back… just for a minute…" Marshall whispered. "I'm scared…" He felt tears coming to his eyes, and the Ice Queen turned to face him. He pulled back, and for a moment, Ice Queen saw a flash of a little boy in tattered blue overalls and a red shirt, tears streaming down his face as he clung to a pink teddy plush. Her eyes grew wide as she realized it was a young Marshall Lee. But as quickly as the vision had come, it was gone, and Ice Queen was left confused and a little… heartbroken.

"… What happened…? Back then?" Ice Queen asked quietly and Marshall Lee could almost smile. Maybe if he helped her explore her past, he'd get Symone back for a moment before the world was thrown into chaos.

* * *

Prince Gumball quietly returned to his kingdom, gathering all his people despite the late hour. Taking a deep breath, he came out to his balcony. He had to tell them… no matter how badly it hurt. He looked up to the sky to see Lord Monochromicorn flying off to join Cake, and then he looked down at his tired people gathered below. Stepping into their view, he raised his hands to gain their attention.

"Citizens of the Candy Kingdom! … I'm afraid I come to you with the gravest news of all. The Lich Queen, the sworn enemy of all life, has found a way to destroy our world." The people below gasped and began to panic, but Gumball called over them, "I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done, my dear people… So I suggest you all take this time to be with your families… Those of you who have no family are welcome to my palace to share your time with friends. No one should be alone in our last days… I'm sorry…" He drew his crown from his head, setting it on the balcony railing before disappearing back into the palace. The only one who would be alone would be the Prince himself.

* * *

Fionna hugged Cake tightly as tears coursed down their faces. She looked up as Lord Monochromicorn landed nearby, and Fionna drew back to look at Cake. "Go on… be with your family. I had you for a whole eighteen years. They should have you for the last days."

"But… but, Fi…" Cake sniffled.

"I love you, big sister…" Fionna whispered as she had when she was a young girl, embracing her sister one last time.

"I love you too, baby…" Cake finally drew back and Fionna kissed her cheek before doing the same to Monochromicorn in farewell. The two disappeared into the night sky, Cake waving back, and Fionna was left alone with Flint stepping up behind her.

"What're we gonna do, Flint?" Fionna asked softly, looking to her boyfriend of only several short weeks. "With so little time left…"

"Follow me," Flint told her softly. The two made their way southward, toward the Fire Kingdom, and after the long trek, Flint sought out Flambi the flambit.

"Yo, don't youse guys know the world's endin'?" The sassy flambit spat as Flint called her out to meet them. "I'm spendin' time with my boyfriend, man!"

"I'm sorry, Flambi. But… can you cast the fire protection spell on Fionna?" Flint asked softly.

"I can do youse one bettah." Flambi disappeared into her home once more before returning with a blue crystal necklace and tossing it to Fionna. "There. That's permanent, long as ya wear it. Now go away!" Flambi disappeared back inside as Fionna donned the pendant. Enveloped in a blue shield, Fionna suddenly found herself in Flint's arms. He felt warm, but pleasantly so, and all Fionna could do was hug him as tightly as possible and cry. Her tears sizzled against his chest and felt like needles, but Flint didn't care. He took her back to the grasslands, to the hill in front of the treehouse, and he sat with her in his lap for the first time, watching the sunrise until they both fell asleep together in the grass.

* * *

Days passed, and the world grew steadily colder until the people of Aaa constantly saw their breath ghosting into steam. Then, when the first snow fell, it froze the entire landscape. Lakes and rivers were already freezing, and after a week, they were frozen solid straight through, and the oceans began to freeze too. It was zero degrees constantly, and the only way anyone survived was by staying in barricaded homes with roaring fires. The first to die were the homeless on the streets in each kingdom, but the first mass of deaths was in the Fire Kingdom when everyone was simply snuffed out. Flint, however, survived thanks to Fionna, hiding away in the treehouse now that his flames were too low to set it ablaze.

In the Candy Kingdom, the people never saw their ruler again. His crown froze on the balcony, and rumors began to circulate that he'd locked himself away and died of thirst. No one had the energy nor drive to find out if that was true.

In the home of Monochromicorn and Cake, the little family huddled together as food ran out and water froze. Like Gumball, no one ever saw them again, but it was generally rumored that Monochromicorn and Cake had been the first to go thanks to going without for the sake of their children.

At the treehouse, Fionna began to burn furniture and belongings to keep Flint ablaze, until finally, it was too cold to start a fire and Flint began to fade. His body turned pale blue as he lay in the now-bare living room. Fionna joined his side as tears coursed down her cheeks and froze. She lifted his head, and pressed their first and last kiss to his lips, and he faded away with a gentle smile. She would fade eventually too, frozen at his side.

In the Ice Kingdom, Marshall Lee weakened while the Ice Queen gained power. They spoke constantly about the Ice Queen's past, studying artefacts she'd kept without realizing they were memories. Marshall told her the whole story she'd told him, and how she'd cared from him and saved him from certain death by way of illness. He told her about the last time he'd seen her, and how he'd made his own way with what she'd taught him. They shared their lives after they'd been parted, and Marshall told Ice Queen how often he'd thought of her. But as the second week ended, Marshall Lee became so weak that he couldn't even speak. He lay in his makeshift bed, struggling to breathe the beyond-freezing air, and Ice Queen sat at his side crying icy tears. Even if she didn't remember the little boy she'd saved as Symone, she loved this boy dearly as her closest friend, and had considered him as such for far longer than their meaningful two weeks of past-searching. She held his hand as his eyes closed for the last time and the cold literally froze his body from the inside. Slowly, she felt a deep rage building in her chest.

"_LICH!_" She roared as she exploded out from her mountain home, Marshall Lee's guitar clenched in her hands. "_I'LL KILL YOU!_" She cried to the heavens, but then she felt a strange sensation as the far-off sun disappeared below the horizon. Was it… cold…? She landed in the snow, Marshall Lee's guitar dropping from her hands before her. She looked down at her hands, and saw her blue skin cracking and bleeding. With one last enraged burst, she lifted her hands to the sky and summoned up all the snow and wind she possibly could.

_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"_

The blizzard whipped into a frenzy and surrounded Ice Queen with a white veil that, eventually, settled over the entire Ice Kingdom. She fell to her knees, her tears freezing in her eyes, but as she managed to open her eyes once more, she saw the vision of the little boy she'd loved so much, hugging his teddy Hambo tight and approaching her. When he reached out a hand, she gladly took it.

"It's okay, Symone," he told her with a sure smile. Symone… Yes. That was her name.

"I know it is, honey," Symone answered back softly as her vision was filled with a grassy field and a rising moon beyond, her pack sitting on the ground beside little Marshall. "Let's go… and find… those… new shoes… for… y-…"

Blackness engulfed Symone's freed mind, and warmth filled her body as she fell to her side in the snow. In her mind, though, that blackness filled with stars as she looked up to the sky, pointing out constellations to the dear little boy who was beginning to nod off against her shoulder. He was right… _It's okay…_

* * *

The cold raged for months on end, until finally, the Earth fell into a wobbly orbit just ahead of Mars. Only one thing still lived on the whitened planet, deep underground, alone, as he spent his last days before his fire died. He wrote on his typewriter until his fingers bled, recorded video and audio until his voice failed, and even resorted to drawing on the walls with charcoal from the fire until he'd finally completed his memoirs, and every detail he knew of the dearest people that he'd ever known. Cake the Cat, Flint the Flame Prince, Lord Monochromicorn, Marshall Lee the Vampire King, and Fionna the Human. They were the ones he focused on. With a final stroke of a makeshift charcoal pencil above his mantle as the fire died and his fingers began to freeze, Gumball looked up at the full portraits he'd drawn of his friends and himself, and with the last ounce of strength in his body, he locked his written and recorded memories into a solid stone safe and fell before it, finally able to give in.

* * *

Gumball stared at what would have been himself if he'd left the Time Room, but he found he was not at all surprised by how it had ended for him… Even if all life had ended, he would've held out hope that life could return someday to another planet, and one day, someone would come to the frozen earth and, if only by sheer luck, come across the stories of the beautiful friends Gumball loved most.

"I…" Marshall began slowly as tears filled his eyes. "I have a wish."

"Carefully considered, I hope?" Prismo asked with a sad sigh.

"Yeah… I wish I'd had the power to defeat the Lich before she came here."

Prismo sighed again. "Alright…" He opened another portal, and as Marshall Lee stepped in, Gumball stared up at the screen that was centered on what would've been his future self as it went black, fading to a little boy setting out on his own after he was abandoned by his last friend with nothing but a pink teddy.

* * *

_**Augh... my... my heart... Oh Glob, and it's not gonna get any less painful. Have I torn out your hearts yet? I know I tore out my own... Let me know what you guys think in the reviews... ugh... I need to lay down...**_

_**P.S. The 'duo' here is actually a trick. It's every duo mentioned in the story. However, poor Gumball doesn't get a partner for his own pair. Poor guy, all he had was his memories...**_

_**-Taiylor Wallace... or what's left of her.**_


	18. The Dance in the Dark (Season Title P5)

_**Part Five of the Season Title: "The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark"**_

_**(A note from the Author: Huzzah for the altered timeline of Marshall Lee!)**_

_**The Vampire King, taking the title of 'Ruler of the Nightosphere' from his mother, becomes the stuff of nightmares for the land of Aaa, that is until the alliance of royals calls forth their greatest warrior: Fionna the Human. Things don't go quite according to plan, but Marshall Lee and Fionna find themselves intrigued with each other, even if Fionna won't admit it.**_

* * *

It'd been almost a thousand years since Marshall Lee Abadeer set out on his own. In early life, he'd been a warmongering menace after he'd killed the Vampire Queen and gained his immense powers. Then, he became simply a trickster, occasionally a ruffian and fiend whenever simply sucking the red out of objects wasn't enough. As centuries passed, he fell to his axe guitar for entertainment and a sense of stability amid his ever-changing world. He never contacted his mother again until he was almost eight-hundred years old, and that ended in a bloody battle over painful memories and left each to retreat to their own hideouts to plan how they'd get rid of the other. Marshall Lee had claimed his inherited right to the throne of the Nightosphere, but Helen Abadeer had denied it, telling him that he would never be the Emperor of Darkness until she so chose to give that mantle to him.

Out of sheer hatred and the pent-up pain of being lost in the mortal world when he was only a child, Marshall Lee slew his mother in a weak moment after reminding her of her long-dead husband. He took everything, including the pendant that would make him the most powerful being in the Nightosphere and therefore, its Lord. He terrorized the dark world for another two centuries until he grew bored and decided to move onto the land of Aaa beyond his own. Its residents were people not used to the horrors of the Nightosphere, so Marshall Lee could literally bring a fresh hell to distract himself from his memories and past.

He enjoyed himself immensely, until a candy royal by the name of Gumball met his demonic forces with an alliance of all the great rulers of Aaa. Before him stood the newly-ascended Flame King who'd overthrown his mother, the all-too-familiar Ice Queen, and many other great leaders and fighters all led by Gumball. But the one that held out against Marshall Lee's attacks and actually managed to wound him in one fierce battle, was a lone human heroine by the name of Fionna. She caught his eye the moment her blade ripped through his shoulder, but he cast her away before she could finish him off.

Never had he met such beauty combined with such power… never had he been bested. He decided then and there, that night as his wound was treated by a demonic healer, that Fionna the Human would be his to control, or die. He never intended what happened next.

The next day as the armies clashed again, Marshall Lee focused on Fionna and captured her with ease. Prince Gumball and Flame King cared so deeply for her that they pulled back their armies when Marshall Lee threatened to kill the brave girl. Ice queen fought on, considering Fionna a close friend, and her army was annihilated. She was sent back to Gumball and Flame King in chains and blood, but she managed to survive.

Marshall Lee left his army to fight if Gumball and Flame King tried anything, and took Fionna back to his newly-built grand castle in the Nightosphere. He cast her into his dungeon, intent on breaking her and turning her into a demonic champion warrior. For weeks and weeks, she held out to torture and starvation, until it was Marshall Lee who broke without realizing it. He brought her the first food she'd had since her arrival- she was thin and sick by this point- but she simply slapped it from his hands when he tried to give it to her.

"Are you _trying_ to starve to death?" Marshall Lee snarled.

"If it gets me away from you, then heck yeah I am!" Fionna snapped back before settling against the wall in her chains.

"I'm not trying to kill you, you stupid girl. I'm trying to make you into a warrior! You'll be so unstoppable that you can take whatever you want from the people you defeat. Don't tell me that doesn't sound amazing."

"Dude, I wouldn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it, even if you gave me everything in the whole globbin' world!"

Marshall Lee paused then. So… what he'd heard about her was true. She was a pure hero, a defender of the weak and defeater of evil. "… You're sure about that?" He asked quietly.

"One-hundred percent," Fionna growled back.

"I see…" He then stepped forward, and even though she tried to retreat, he pulled her closer by her chains, and unlocked her shackles.

"Wh-… what're you doing?"

"Unbinding you. What else?"

"Why?"

"Because obviously these harsh tactics aren't going to get you on my side."

"Nothing's getting me on your side after all you've done," Fionna crossed her arms as she was freed.

"Suit yourself. Dinner will be ready in an hour if you want to get cleaned up. Up the stairs, down the hall to the left, last door is the bathroom, and across the hall from it is your room." Marshall Lee made his way out, leaving the cell open. He had already disappeared by the time Fionna got to the top of the stairs, panting from lack of energy and dizzy from weakness. She made her way unsteadily down the hall and drew a hot bath, but made sure to lock the door as she didn't trust this 'Lord of the Nightosphere' as far as she could throw him. Which probably wasn't too far given her current state. As she lay in the bathtub, she chuckled bitterly at the realization that she remembered a story from when she was little that matched her current situation. What was it called…? La Belle et la Bête? Some weird name from another language before the Great Mushroom War. Her mother- well, Cake's mom- had said it meant 'The Beauty and the Beast' or something.

When she went to her room wrapped in towels, she found a simple blue gown laid out for her on the bed. She frowned, but at least it wasn't frilly like what Cake would make her wear. She dressed slowly, unable to do much of anything very fast at the risk of getting dizzy and falling over. When she finally found her way down to the main hall, a small red demon butler pointed her to the dining room where she was expecting to see a great long table with a million chairs, but instead found that it'd been converted into a big library of sheet music and beautiful instruments in glass cases, with only a small round table in the center with two mismatched chairs, and the surface of the wooden table was a mosaic in the image of a red axe guitar very similar to the one Marshall Lee had used in battle.

Marshall Lee was studying a book of medieval Aaaian music from its first century after the War, idly humming the tune to himself. He glanced up as Fionna entered, finding that his servants had decided to leave a dress out for her. He honestly quite liked it, but he preferred her usual adventuring gear. He'd have someone fetch said clothes for her.

The Vampire King stepped around the table, drawing out a chair for Fionna, and she silently sat down while he took the seat across from her. Fionna didn't like how close they were across this little table. A few feet was not enough space between herself and the monster who'd been terrorizing her home for as long as she could remember. Dinner was brought out and served and the two ate without a word for some time. Fionna's meal was normal to her, as Marshall Lee knew she probably wouldn't eat Nightospherian food. His, however, was comprised of mostly red, bloody meat. Fionna half-expected him to eat like a dog, but he was quite courteous and she could almost get over what he was eating with how good his table manners were. Gumball had told her he used to be a punk musician before he overthrew his mother, but in becoming the Lord of the Nightosphere, he shaped up to be a sort of gentleman monster. His unruly black hair wasn't affected by the change, though, and it seemed he only wore suits in public because he was currently dressed in a plaid red shirt and jeans with red high-tops.

Fionna finally broke the silence when she finished. "So what am I doing here, exactly?"

"Becoming my warrior," Marshall Lee answered simply.

"Not gonna happen."

"I know."

"Then why the heck am I still here?!" Fionna growled, crossing her arms.

"If I return you, the war will start again. If I'm honest… I'm done with fighting, but I'm not about to admit defeat."

"Just call a truce, for Glob's sake!"

"Nope."

"You egotistical-…" Fionna shut her mouth and simply glared at him until she murmured, "So, what? Am I just gonna be stuck here forever?"

"Probably. The only way out of the Nightosphere now is by my portals. I disabled the spells that once allowed mortals with arcane knowledge to enter."

"Alright, then what am I gonna do while I'm here?" Marshall Lee was surprised by how well she was taking it all. It seemed like she was a little put off, but she certainly wasn't raging and screaming at him.

"I'm not sure… as my personal guest, you're pretty much free to do almost anything you want. Just don't get eaten by the demons."

"Psh, they couldn't eat me if they tried!" Fionna stated boldly as she rose, but she found she was still dizzy and sat back down again. "Maybe I'll just… y'know, leave the adventuring for tomorrow or something…"

"As I said, you're free to do whatever you want. And if you ever need help…" He slid a strange purple pendant across the table to her. "Just break that." So he cared a little bit.

Fionna spent months exploring the Nightosphere, ignoring the demons as they talked amongst themselves about how she was their Lord's new pet. Many tried to kill her, and a few even tried to capture her so they could blackmail Marshall Lee. She defeated them all with ease until one, a sort of demonic werewolf, captured her and threw her into an electrified cage that she couldn't break out of. The haughty wolf introduced himself as the new Lord of the Nightosphere, but Fionna's answer to that was to chuck her pendant at his face. It bounced off, then shattered on the floor while he nursed his bruised nose. In the floor, a portal opened and Marshall Lee burst through, slicing the wolf into bits in just seconds. He came to the cage to open it with his axe replaced on his back.

"No, don't touch-!" But Marshall had already grabbed the bars and Fionna saw his entire body go stiff and rigid until he collapsed, trembling violently. It was strong magic, even Marshall had to admit that. Fionna was so alarmed that she didn't think as she reached between the bars without touching them, taking Marshall's axe. She destroyed the bars easily with the weapon-made-guitar, and came to kneel by Marshall Lee. "You okay?" She asked softly.

"Yeah…" he muttered. "Just… a little weak…"

"Come on…" Fionna lifted him up with an arm around her shoulders and drew him toward the portal in the floor. He had hardly any strength to carry his own weight, and he certainly couldn't fly as he usually did. When they made their way through the black opening, Fionna found herself in Marshall's bedroom and blushed deep red. His room was… white. She guessed it'd been red at one point but he must've sucked out all the color. She helped him lay down and carefully set his axe guitar against the wall within his reach. He was out like a light, so she left him alone and returned to her own room.

_Strange,_ she thought, _I wonder why he cares._

_'Cause he thinks you're cute, girl!_ She could almost hear Cake's voice, and blushed so hard that she thought her nose was going to bleed.

"Nope," she said quickly, jumping on her bed and burying her face in the pillows.

* * *

_**Not quite as feelsy as the previous couple chapters. This one is a run-up to the next chapter, which is the LAST OF THE SEASON. I'll be posting the link to Season Two after the last chapter, and after that, this Season is complete!**_

_**P.S. 'The Dance in the Dark' really applies to the next part, not this one. And yes, I purposely used 'The Beauty and the Beast' as inspiration.**_

_**-Taiylor Wallace**_


	19. The Dance in the Dark (Season Title P6)

_**Part Six, being the last chapter, of the Season Title: "The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark"**_

**_(A note from the Author: Last chapter, guys! Hold onto your pants! And your hankies!)_**

**_Perhaps a life in the Nightosphere wouldn't be so bad, when its ruler is your best friend and he loves you too much to keep you prisoner. But perhaps when trouble strikes, it hurts more to love._**

* * *

Fionna had been held captive in the Nightosphere for nearly two years, but as time went on, it felt more and more like a home. Marshall Lee treated her like an honored guest at first, but then they slowly relaxed into a- dare she admit it- fun and easygoing friendship. He'd given her freedom after a year to go home, telling her that as long as she was happy, he didn't mind if the war started up again. She did go home, visiting all her dearest friends and her sister, but she returned to Marshall Lee through the portal he'd left open for her in secret, in case she ever needed him. He was surprised to say the least, but all too glad to welcome her back.

Almost every night, the two played a few hours on flute and guitar together. They wrote many songs, most of them about their adventures. Fionna was finally able to send letters back through to her friends, and the war ended in peace at her insistence that Marshall Lee was really a good guy, and how he didn't want to fight but did so out of stubborn pride. Prince Gumball created a peace treaty and it was signed by all parties involved. Marshall Lee and Fionna spent almost all of their time together, but the real step forward for their friendship was the night they shared their memories and past with one another. Each felt deep empathy for the other, finding they'd both been separated from their parents so young. Fionna was horrified when Marshall told her he'd actually killed his own mother later, but not because of the fact, but at the realization of how all the pain and anger had built up to cause him to do so.

"So… she could've come back to you anytime in all those years and she didn't?" Fionna asked softly.

"No. So when we finally saw each other again, I was so mad that I just attacked her. Neither one of us really won that fight, so we backed off for a while… I got the upper hand and…" He sighed, hanging his head. He'd never felt anything but shattering guilt since. Even if she had never been there for him, she hadn't deserved to die. "Sometimes… I wish I could just bring her back and… try to tell her how sorry I am… I only ever wanted to spend time with her, and the moment I had a chance to try, I killed her…"

"The way I see it, Marsh… you guys didn't really understand each other. I think she knew that, and I think she still knows, wherever she is."

"How can you be so cool about this?" Marshall Lee looked down at her as tears threatened to brim in his eyes.

"'Cause I know you're a good guy, and even good guys make mistakes," Fionna explained and lifted a hand to brush his bangs from his face. "You're a total sweetheart, once I got to know you."

Fionna wasn't at all expecting Marshall to reach out to cup her cheek, drawing her in until their lips touched. She felt a tingling start in her fingertips and toes, and though she was shocked and turned beet-red, she didn't pull away. Instead, she closed her eyes and leaned in a little more. Her hands found his own cheek and his shoulder, and she squeaked quietly when he moved closer and wrapped an arm about her waist. When their lips finally parted, ocean-blue eyes met deep blood-red. Fionna stared into their depths in silent awe for a moment before she let out a small giggle and a fanged grin appeared on Marshall Lee's face. Both fell back laughing onto Marshall Lee's bed, and they spent the rest of the night talking about this and that with the occasional awkward kiss and, ultimately, Fionna fell asleep in his arms.

Within another week, the two began to make forays into Aaa on adventures, and it felt so natural and familiar to Marshall Lee and Fionna that they just never wanted to stop. Marshall Lee appointed a second-in-command in the Nightosphere to give himself this time with his new girlfriend, and their relationship blossomed beautifully. Marshall Lee finally became friends with Prince Gumball, their relationship consisting of a lot of pranks and teasing. For the first time since he was a little boy at Symone Petrikov's side, Marshall Lee felt like he belonged in Aaa.

It was on a dungeon run that Fionna and Marshall had their first real fight as a couple when Marshall chose the wrong door and flung them into a pit with a cage ceiling that even his power of flight couldn't get them out of.

"Nice going, Marsh," Fionna huffed, beginning to examine the walls and floors for a way out.

"Hey, you said to pick the red door, I opened the red door," Marshall shot back as he searched the barred ceiling for a lock he could break.

"You haven't listened to me at all today, I didn't think you were suddenly gonna start!" She growled up at him, and Marshall came to hover a few feet above her.

"I listen to you whenever you say anything! Just 'cause I don't have a comment to make about it doesn't mean I didn't hear you!"

"Don't yell at me! It's your fault we're stuck here, you just _had_ to come to the Direwatch Stronghold because you _needed_ what was at the end."

"I do _need_ what's at the end," Marshall finally landed before her. "You know my guitar needs new strings, and the only kind that'll work right come from the special kind of star-metal that's at the end of this place."

"Why not just get regular strings?" Fionna crossed her arms over her chest.

"Because regular strings break in less than a month with me and they sound awful, that's why. So I gotta get this stuff to the guy who makes my strings in the Nightosphere."

"Yeah, right. I think you're just picky and vain. Mr. 'Great-ruler-of-the-Nightosphere' can only use one kind of guitar string or else everything's ruined."

"As opposed to how completely undiscerning you are."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You literally don't think at all about quality. As long as it fits whatever you need it for, you'll take it."

"I don't need anything to be perfect! Why the heck do you think I'm dating _you_?!" But then, Fionna realized what she'd said and gasped, lifting her hands to cover her mouth.

Marshall Lee looked at her as his shoulders slumped. "Maybe I am a perfectionist… That's why I want you… and I know I'm not perfect myself, but I try to be because you deserve it."

"Marshall…" Fionna reached out, but he flew back up to the ceiling, and with a snarl of effort, he shattered the bars with his axe. When he returned, Fionna quietly wrapped her arms around his waist and he flew them out, abandoning the quest for the star-steel he'd wanted. He returned them to the Nightosphere and set her down in the main hall before retreating to his room. Fionna watched him go with a breaking heart, wondering why she never thought before she spoke… She made up her mind then and there to show Marshall Lee that she loved his perfectionism… that she loved him. So, with the help of Marshall Lee's second-in-command, she made it back to the land of Aaa, and she took on the dungeon alone.

* * *

Fionna disappeared for three whole days and Marshall Lee searched everywhere he could think of for her, until she reappeared in the main hall late one night looking like she'd gone through a shredder, carrying a small bag in hand.

"Fi!" Marshall leapt from the upper floor loft that looked down on the hall, coming to hover inches above the ground before her. "Where were you?!" He wrapped her in a tight embrace and closed his eyes as he let his head rest against hers.

"Adventuring, mostly," Fionna smiled as she wrapped her arms about his waist. "I got your strings…" She stepped back to hold up the bag from his favorite music shop. Marshall Lee took it slowly and met her eyes.

"Fionna… you didn't have to do that… you could've gotten yourself killed in the dungeon…"

"Nah, just banged up a little is all," Fionna leaned in to kiss his cheek before she made her way toward her room. Marshall Lee abandoned the bag on the table and came to scoop her up, carrying her up the flight of stairs to her bedroom. He helped her tend to all her cuts and scrapes before he left her in privacy to take a bath and change. While she rested, he restrung his guitar, and found that it made the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. Maybe it sounded a little sweeter because of her.

* * *

The two never married in any kind of ceremony, they simply made it official in a spur-of-the-moment decision. They spent their days and nights with all the music and adventure they could've ever hoped for. When their first child, a little girl named Jessie, arrived, both grew up a little more and, even though they still spent plenty of time doing what they'd always done, their lives began to revolve around the lovely little girl with the ebony hair and blue eyes. Prince Gumball, now married to a lovely girl from the candy kingdom, became little Jessie's godfather, and Fionna and Marshall moved to Aaa, back into the treehouse. It had laid vacant for some time after Cake had gone to live with Lord Monochromicorn to raise their children.

By the time she was eight years old, Jessie was entirely like her mother, but was definitely Daddy's little girl, and she was constantly getting into adventure and trouble with her cousins. It was one night while Jessie was out playing in the grasslands with her cousins and Fionna and Marshall were perched on the top of the treehouse having a quiet little date that, below, Fionna spotted Peppermint Maid racing toward the treehouse screaming for Fionna's help.

"The Lich! The Lich!" She cried. "Save the King!"

Fionna leapt from the top of the tree, knowing Marshall would catch her, and the two landed before Peppermint Maid with sword and axe drawn. "What's happening?" Fionna asked quickly.

"The Lich Queen! She's risen from beneath the palace! She's trying to kill the King!" Peppermint Maid grabbed Fionna's hand. "Hurry! Hurry!"

"Marshall, get Jessie and her cousins inside, then catch up to me," Fionna told her husband quickly.

"Other way around. I can get there faster," Marshall grabbed Peppermint Maid and took off into the night sky. When he arrived, he found the entire Candy Kingdom ablaze, the people fleeing for their lives out of the gates. He set Peppermint Maid down and headed for the Palace. Inside amongst the fire, he found a horrible sight. King Gumball lay defeated and barely alive in the great hall with his wife crying over him and their two small children huddling to her side. Beyond them and approaching at a leisurely walk was an undead creature that Marshall Lee only remembered a flash of when she'd appeared from the nuclear fallout of the Great Mushroom War. He landed between the little royal family and the Lich Queen and struck out at her, only to have his axe stopped right on the spot by the Lich's hand. He felt his axe turn cold in his hands and he let go immediately.

"Run!" He called to the royal family. They wouldn't budge without the King, so Marshall scooped him up and led the family out quickly, beyond the walls. The Lich followed in no hurry, and Marshall came to face her just outside the burning kingdom. He pulled the amulet of the Nightosphere from his shirt and focused his energy into it for all he was worth, until the Lich Queen was faced with a giant demonic bat, far greater than what Marshall Lee had been before he'd taken the amulet from his mother. The Lich focused her own power and grew to match his size. The two locked in a fight to the death as the candy people fled and Fionna arrived. She tried to help, only to be captured in the Lich's hands and thrown against the huge wall. Fionna fell to the grass with a whimper and didn't get up, launching Marshall Lee into a frenzy.

"_FIONNA!_" He roared with all his might, and slammed the Lich into the ground. She formed a blade of shadow and ice as she fell, and Marshall hissed with pain as it ran him through the chest, but he still managed to summon enough strength to finally, with a roar of pain and triumph, crush the Lich's skull and suck her energies and soul into his pendant. The pendant shattered and faded away, the evil soul taken with it. The Lich Queen was no more, but she wasn't going alone.

Marshall's demonic form shrunk back down to his original size and vampiric half-demon body, and he lay gasping for breath as the shadowy blade faded and his blood ran free. He dragged himself slowly toward Fionna as she sat up trying to see straight. When she saw her fallen husband, she immediately crawled to his side and brought his head to rest in her lap. "Marsh…" she whispered, smoothing his ebony hair back.

"… Some fight… huh?" He asked with a weak grin.

"Yeah… but you kicked her butt. We're gonna throw a huge party once everyone's healed. You have to be there since you beat her."

"Sure… Might have to… go back… get my… suit…" Marshall's eyes began to close and Fionna hugged him tightly to her chest.

"Don't go… you don't need a suit," she whispered as her eyes filled with tears.

"I know… you never liked me in a suit anyway…" He draped an arm around her and she pressed a kiss to his forehead. "And I love you for letting me be myself… among other things."

"I love you too, Marsh…"

"Tell Jess too… for me…"

Fionna had never felt so empty, nor so bursting with pain as she felt when Marshall Lee's cold form slowly went limp in her arms, and never had she been so silent about her pain as the week in between his death and his funeral. Many people just couldn't believe it. How could he die? He was already dead… wasn't he? But when they learned that it was magic that had laid him low, they said no more. King Gumball recovered enough to attend the funeral, as did everyone else who survived the Lich's attack on the Candy Kingdom. That day, all of Aaa and all of the Nightosphere attended peacefully.

It would be the first time that the two realms collided without war, as the Lord of the Nightosphere was laid to rest at the foot of the treehouse, in the shade, and his little daughter laid a red rose on his grave after his dearest friends filled it in. As the attendees dispersed, the last left were Gumball, Fionna, Flint, Cake, and Jessie. The little girl was huddled into her aunt's arms as her mother came to sit on her knees beside the headstone, saying her last, silent goodbye. Fionna had hardly spoken all that week, and no one had seen her cry, though it was obvious she did when no one was looking by how perpetually red her eyes were. Finally, in only the company of her closest companions and daughter, she broke down sobbing. Gumball came to kneel beside her, wrapping her in his arms.

She lifted her head, tears rushing down her cheeks, to look at her dear old friend and ask, "What'll we do without him…?"

* * *

"I can't take any more of this…" Gumball whispered. "Please, Prismo… no more… can't it just all be the way it was before the Lich…?"

"You're going to have to be more specific than that if you want to fix all of this," Prismo told him with a deep sigh.

"I think I know what to do," Cake spoke up, taking Gumball's hand. "I wish I knew how to fix this!" Gumball gasped and looked down at her.

"Cake, no! Don't waste your wish!"

"She's not wasting it. Wish granted: what you have to do is wish that the Lich wished for something else, but be really specific, okay?"

"Now you use your wish to do that!" Cake smiled up at Gumball, who nodded slowly in realization.

"I wish… that the Lich had wished for Cake, Marshall Lee, Fionna, Flint, and I to all be back safely in the Candy Kingdom."

"That's perfect!" Prismo grinned as he opened a new portal. "Go ahead!"

The pair hurried through and found themselves once again, pulled through the portal made by the Enchiridion to Prismo's time room, and there, they watched the Lich Queen approach Prismo, feeling sure that she was finally about to win.

"I wish that Cake, Marshall Lee, Fionna, Flint, and Prince Gumball were all safely back at the Candy Kingdom," the Lich spoke triumphantly, until she realized what she'd said.

"Wish granted!" Prismo grinned, opening up a new portal.

"No, no, I wanted-!"

"Ah-ah-ah, one wish per person, those are the rules." With that, Prismo flung the Lich through the portal and the rest of the group was sucked in before they knew what was happening. They all found themselves in the Candy Palace's main hall, and Fionna and Cake were immediately jumping on the Lich. Marshall Lee and Flint joined in, and they literally ripped her apart amid her roars of rage. As Marshall Lee crushed her skull, the entire skeleton went limp and turned to dust.

"Alright!" Fionna leapt up. "Woo! Aaa, one. Lich, _NOTHING_!"

"So wait, what the glob just happened?" Marshall asked as he shouldered his axe. "She wished for us to come back here. Why?"

"That was Gumball's wish," Cake spoke up.

"… What?" Fionna turned to them. "But he didn't make a wish."

"Yeah, you made yours first and that turned out with you goin' Ice Queen-crazy, then Flint ended up actually makin' the Lich's wish come true to save you, and we all died. Marshall Lee wished for the power to defeat the Lich and you two got married and had a kid and he died, then I wished to know what to wish for and Gumball wished for the Lich to wish for this, so here we are."

Flint, Marshall, and Fionna stared at her, all blushing for a different reason, and all completely stupefied by the fast explanation.

"_I MARRIED MARSHALL?!"_

_"I DIED? AFTER I MARRIED HER?!"_

_"THOSE TWO MARRIED?!"_

Between the sudden battle of Flint and Marshall Lee, jealousy versus complete embarrassment, Fionna curling into a ball to hide, and Cake trying to break up the fight, Gumball simply chuckled to himself. Everything was back to normal. But if he would've seen the little snail in the corner, he would've known that things were going to get much worse than ever before.

* * *

_**Heartbreak followed by comic relief, then villainous foreshadowing! Thank Glob for the relief, though. What do you guys think of the last chapter?! Season Two will be coming soon. A link will be posted on the next chapter page before I mark this one as 'complete'. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you for the next round! I have twenty minutes to get ready for work, so bye!**_

_**P.S. To those whose hearts are broken... just remember, those wishes were all undone by Gumball's, so they didn't happen! I hope that makes you feel better, but I know it doesn't help me... *sob***_

_**P.P.S. Three chapters in less that twenty-four hours! I'm on FI-YAH!**_

_**-Taiylor Wallace**_


	20. Season One Recap & Extra Nerdy Bits

**Season One: The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark**

_Chapter Recap & Extra Nerdy Tidbits from the Author_

Okay, so I'm a nerd for a few things. Lord of the Rings, Kung Fu Panda, and Adventure Time are my top nerd-doms. And, as a proud fangirl of these things, I love to know the behind-the-scenes. So for anyone who, like myself, likes to know how things came to be and the way they changed from the original 'storyboarded' idea, this bit is for you.

* * *

**Chapter One & Two: The Bat, the Bunny, and the Treehouse P1 & P2**

**(Alternate Titles: 'Evicted!' and 'Un-Evicted!')**

_Plotline P1: Fionna and Cake find a bat locked in a magic chest in the cave of a troll that they defeated after it kicked Fionna's buns a while before. Fionna brings the bat home and names her 'Blackie'. But when she wakes up in the morning, she finds a pale, fanged boy asleep on her where Blackie had been. Like any young woman who wakes up with a strange young man laying on her, she freaks. Cake and Fi find out that his name is Marshall Lee and he was locked away to be eaten by the troll after being taken off-guard. They also find out he is the rightful owner of the treehouse and he subsequently kicks them out._

_Plotline P2: Fionna and Cake have been struggling to survive for some time, so when they find some wild red berries, they try to savor the food. But when one berry loses its color (and thus, tastes rotten) Fionna explodes. Only when she's calm do they hear a guitar nearby and they go to investigate, hoping it's picnickers. They're right, but it turns out to be Marshall Lee playing his guitar in the forest with a basket loaded with red foods. A fight ensues over Fionna's honor and indignation at Marshall's haughty 'I'm the Vampire King and whatever I say, goes' attitude. Even though Fionna technically loses, Marshall Lee finds her entertaining and interesting and thus, gives the pair back their treehouse. Fionna thinks he's a total jerk but realizes she's super interested to learn about him too. Hence, the beginning of a very weird friendship._

Here comes the nerdy part. The first chapter was originally meant to be the pair when they first arrived at the treehouse very young, but I realized I wanted to start with Fionna about seventeen or eighteen, so I decided she'd already be living there for a long time. I always wanted to introduce Marshall in a really cute bat form rather than Marceline's way, but it was a challenge coming up with a reason for him to meet them in tiny bat form. So, I decided, why not have a troll lock him away? The crystal chest actually comes, in a very weird way, from the title. "The Chronicles of Aaa: The Bat, the Bunny, and the Treehouse" came originally to me when I was half-dead at work and humming Tumnus' lullaby to myself, so I modeled it after The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. At first, the whole series was going to be named this full title, but then I took a hint again from Narnia and decided to make the second part of the title not the grand title, but the introduction of a chapter in the Chronicles of Aaa. Thus, the title was born.

Now, the way I got the 'crystal chest' idea was vaguely related to an episode of Adventure Time and the White Witch. Remember how she freezes people in stone with her wand-spear-thing? And remember 'Escape from the Citadel' in Adventure Time? I somehow came up with a crystal prison in the form of a chest. Don't ask me how, my brain is just weird that way after playing years of Dark Cloud, whose most annoying monsters are chest-mimics.

Lastly, the alternate titles are quite obviously based on the Adventure Time title of the episode introducing Marceline the Vampire Queen, 'Evicted!'.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Goodie Two-Shoes**

_Plotline: Marshall Lee goes to Fionna for entertainment, resulting in their first jam together since their meeting, and Cake's lasting sureness that Marshall Lee is trying to steal Fionna away with his bad-boy ways._

This chapter was sort of a cooldown from the first two, but also the vital introduction of Marshall Lee and Fionna's relationship both socially and musically. Also, it gave me an excuse to write a cheesy song and make Marshall start up his teasing. There wasn't really much behind this one, I sort of wrote it on the spot after finishing the second chapter, and I didn't structure it in any particular way for a future plot point. It wasn't fluff, and though it did serve the purpose of beginning their real friendship, it gives no subplots.

* * *

**Chapter Four: Through the Fire and the Flames**

_Plotline: After a long search and a disappointing outcome, Fionna gets a rusty sword said to have magical water powers and goes home a bit depressed. When she receives word that the Candy Kingdom is ablaze, she hurries out with only the broken sword in her backpack, and comes to find everything but the palace is burning as Prince Gumball tries to save it and keep his people from getting burned alive. When he realizes she found the Sword of the Well, he directs her to put it back together and it forms its original, shining form that can spout almost endless water. She and Cake douse the flames around the city until a young man stumbles out of a building and passes out. Gumball recognizes him as a fire-being and asks the two heroines to chain him in a safe place for questioning. When he awakes later in Marshall's cave behind the Vampire King's house, they learn that his name is Ignatius Flint Morkai and he is the lost Flame Prince, on the run to evade his mother's soldiers who are trying to imprison him. Fionna sets him free and pledges to help him, and Marshall, listening from his bedroom window, is left wondering why he cares that Fionna seems to like the prince._

This chapter's function is pretty obvious: intro Flame Prince and Gumball, and the fact that Marshall isn't completely a careless bad boy. He cares not only that Fionna seems to want to make friends with such a dangerous person, but also that she seems to be interested in said person. Jealousy doesn't quite set in til later, though.

Flame Prince got a nifty name based on three sources: Twintaileddragon's Fiolee fanfiction also on this website (they sorta inspired the whole series) where his name is Flint Ignatius, the popular nickname between my friends for FP which is 'Flint', and then my own personal religion. I'm not gonna preach, I'm just gonna say that "Mori'ikai" in the language of my holy book is a conjunction of the words "moriai" and "ikai'i", which mean "molten" and "volcano" and is the ancient name of Mount Kilimanjaro in our legends in our own language. I figured it suited him well.

Lastly, the Sword of the Well is also based on an ancient story in our holy texts, where a hero named Caspo forged a sword in an underwater volcano, thus giving it the powers of the God of the sea and the strength of the God of fire, who in our religion, are brothers. The sword could stand up to any temperature high and spout the endless water of the sea. Yay for cultural influences! If anyone's curious, this religion is called 'Lunasia' and I am what's called a 'Chela', which is of equal stature to a bishop if you want to compare.

And yes, I named this chapter after a Dragonforce song. *sign of the horns*

* * *

**Chapter Five & Six: The Dungeon of Doors P1 & P2**

_Plotline P1: Marshall wakes up late for a meeting with Cake and Fionna to go to the Dungeon of Doors to retrieve an ancient musical instrument. Meanwhile, Fionna and Cake get stuck in said dungeon because they didn't listen to Marshall Lee when he said he needed them because the dungeon required three people. So, the girls are left waiting for him until he comes flying in (literally) and they begin to open the final nine doors. For the first six, they switch up to match Fionna with tests of strength, Cake with mental challenges, and Marshall with stamina and willpower. But the last three doors will not allow them to change. Thus, Marshall must face himself, or rather, what his mother wants him to be._

_Plotline P2: Fionna faces a Flame Prince come to life from a statue and must admit her true feelings, as undeveloped as they are as of yet, in order to pass the test of 'courage of the heart'. Meanwhile, Cake faces fear in a not-so-serious way, but Marshall Lee is the last to emerge after being forced to kill the phantoms of his future self and his mother. The room he entered, in no uncertain terms, showed him that if he turned out the way his mother wished, he would undoubtedly kill Fionna and his best friends. When he leaves the room, he's left in silent shock until he can get his head back in the game, passing off his unresponsiveness with "Do I ever listen?" and his usual careless attitude. With three key-swords gathered from the dungeon rooms, they unlock the treasure at the end. This turns out to be a magical wind flute and a book of sheet music spells, leaving Marshall Lee exasperated, but Fionna intrigued, so she takes it in the memory of Cake's mother, who once taught her to play._

Okay, so anyone who follows the storyline of Adventure Time should remember 'The Lich' and 'Finn the Human' where the Farmworld timeline comes up. In the beginning, Finn's mom interrupts Finn playing his flute outside. That's where the flute came from. As for the Dungeon, I remember watching 'Mystery Dungeon' and 'Gotcha!', both episodes that featured some interesting places. The Mystery Dungeon showcased the strengths of the characters that Ice King kidnapped to complete it (thus the challenges of strength, mind, and willpower), whereas 'Gotcha!' featured a sort of strange mirror room with Finn saves LSP from. I took the mirror idea and applied it to the characters, but rather than reflecting themselves, it reflected their deepest fears. Fionna's is not actually the ocean, it's the fear of how her feelings will affect her life. She has great courage, but not when it comes to her heart. For Cake, she has a very understandable fear of physical danger. I didn't have to go into hers to show that, but I did love the idea that one of her deepest fears is Fionna after she loses at BMO. As for Marshall, his deepest fear is becoming what people expect of him: a monster with no heart. With that comes the fear, not of his mother, but of what she wants him to be. He wants to make her proud, much like Marceline with Hunson, but neither wants to compromise their identity or friends to do it. Deep, right? Hah I just ruined it.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Cupcake Caper (Minisode)**

_Plotline: When Prince Gumball finally discovers the perfect red velvet recipe for his cupcakes, they begin to go missing. He plans to catch the thief with a new batch of (pumpkin) muffins, but to no avail until he bakes more red velvet. When the thief burns himself a second time on the hot pan, Gumball catches him to find that it's Marshall Lee. Despite all this, Gumball can forgive him, especially when Marshall helps him remember the recipe for the cupcakes when he suddenly forgets._

I will admit a tiny crush on most of the big Adventure Time pairings, straight and gay/lesbian, and one that I think is so cute is Marshall and Gumball. I'll always be a Fiolee fan first and foremost, but I can also accept the other pairings. This mini-sode was meant to be one of three different miniature episodes in Season One, but both of the other two turned into full episodes instead (those being 'Asha' and 'When the World Died'). Overall, the idea of the 'mini-sode' serves one of three purposes: exploring a relationship, a flashback, or to introduce a subplot. This particular episode followed the first purpose; exploring Gumball and Marshall Lee's friendship. It wanted them to be more at ease than depicted in 'Bad Little Boy', but not quite as easy as the graphic novels. A good middle ground with a lot of pranks, if you will.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Asha**

_Plotline: Ignatius Flint Morkai, or just Flint as Fionna calls him, finds himself lonely after dreaming of his fire lion pride that he was raised by. He goes to seek the company of his dearest friends, only to come in contact with Marshall Lee. He is told that he's too dangerous to hang around Fionna, even though Marshall admits that he himself is equally dangerous. Both retreat back to their homes. Flint dreams once more of his fire lion mother, Asha, and how he was taken from her by his real mother after a hunt. He wakes to Fionna's voice, in tears. He insists that she should stay away, but she tells him that he's too interesting to stay away._

A lot of people are actually a little bit cross with me about putting Flint and Fionna together rather than Marshall right off the bat (hah, pun), but Fionna, like Finn, must be changed a bit, made more mature, by their relationship with Flame Prin(cess). Anyhow, his episode came of the knowledge that Flint was raised as a feral child by fire lions, so I figured, he had to have a mother amongst his pride, he had to be able to speak to them, and he had to be the oddball. So, I created Asha, quite possibly my most favorite mother thus far, as well as my most favorite minor character to this point. I mean, don't you just love her? Even for what little she speaks and does in the text, she influences Flint endlessly to control his anger, to think carefully, and to love endlessly. This is what allows him to become so close with Fionna, because his mother taught him to never be afraid to love and work hard for those he loves.

But, because I am a sadistic writer who loves heartbreak and blood (seriously, if you ever saw the story "The Mulan of Balhai Temple" that I wrote in a roleplay…), I had to kill her. YES, I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON. For the same reason, I also wrote the last six chapters… I still haven't recovered from 'The Duo' Part Four and 'The Dance in the Dark' Part Six.

Anyhow, this chapter was chiefly to explore who Flint is, and the fact that he's as curious about the world as Flame Princess, but an actual scholar, which comes in handy in 'The Danger' Part One. It also will aid his friendship with Gumball, built of science and knowledge! And probably baking!

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Just Like Me**

_Plotline: After a sudden downpour which they thankfully found shelter from, Flint and Fionna are making their way back to the grasslands from the Candy Kingdom on a day of exploration when the two try to cross the bridge over the river and Fionna is flung into the flooded flow after Flint makes it safely across. Flint runs to get help from the only person fast enough: Marshall Lee. When they find Fionna, Marshall Lee rescues her from being crushed or drowned and Flint helps her fight off hypothermia. Once Fionna turns out to be okay, the two boys go back to Marshall's house where Flint broke a window trying to get his attention. As Flint repairs the glass by melting it back into place, Marshall finds out that Flint actually thinks he's not so bad, and learns that Flint was the maker of an incredibly useful gift that Marshall Lee received on his birthday weeks before; a magical recording stone. After Flint leaves, Marshall Lee decides to use said gift to record a short song._

I felt like 'Asha' didn't touch enough on how the boys feel about each other. Marshall knows that Flint is dangerous and doesn't want him near Fionna, but he also knows that he, being the Vampire King and a trickster, is equally as dangerous. So, he has to fight with that fact whenever he asks Flint to stay away, until he realizes it'd be better for Fionna if they both stayed away. But she loves them both too much as her best friends to let them stay away. The song at the end is the truest admission of Marshall's feelings about the matter, and I felt it fit really well. If you take away the titles and all the meaningless stuff on the outside, Marshall Lee and Flint are really similar. I know if Flint had become a bad boy, he'd be almost the same, and vice versa if Marshall was a scholar. Have you ever noticed a similar thing about Marceline and Flame Princess?

And I gotta say, 'Just Like Me' is one of my favorite songs I've written for this story. When I have a recording of it, I'll let you guys know.

* * *

**Chapter Ten: When the World Died**

**(Alternate Title: I Still Remember You)**

_Plotline: Marshall Lee's memories of his childhood in the Great Mushroom War always haunt him, especially how he lost his best friend, Symone Petrikov, to the madness of the ice crown. He thinks of how horrible it is to hear children sing the 'Cloud Hunt' rhyme while playing hide-and-seek, remembering how the rhyme came of the darkness of the mushroom clouds of the war. He goes back to a precious memory in which he wakes from a nightmare alone while Symone is out foraging. He gets lost when he tries to find her, and when she finally comes across the lost little boy, she comforts him with a new friend; a pink teddy he names Hambo. Symone tells him that Hambo will keep him company while she's away. The two talk about who Symone was before the crown took over, and it almost seems as if everything's okay for a moment as they sit together amongst the wreckage of the world. Back in the present, Marshall Lee recalls the letter Symone wrote to him, that he and her mad self the Ice Queen turned into a song. All he wants is one last moment with the Symone he knew._

This chapter, like the episode 'I Remember You' broke my heart. No, _shattered_ it. I cried when I wrote out the song lyrics and it kinda hurt to have to change them for the sake of the gender swap, but then I decided it was okay because it still worked and it was still words from Symone's heart to Marshall Lee. I seriously can't even look at Ice Queen or Ice King without seeing Symone and Simon, then subsequently sobbing my heart out.

As for the Cloud Hunt rhyme, I remember it from 'Marceline's Closet', and I was as disturbed by it as I always am by 'Ring Around the Rosie'. Even though it's not really confirmed if 'Ring Around the Rosie' is really about a World War, it certainly draws a lot of parallels and, even if it wasn't made because of the war, it's so easy to relate to it that you can't help but connect the two. 'Cloud Hunt' is much more ominous as there's nothing to do with flowers in your pockets and falling down with all your friends in a ring. It's literally telling you that the cloud is coming to get you, and even underground, you are going to be found (and killed). Scary, right? And out of a kids' show! But because kids don't get that stuff til they're older, the dire fine print and the darker side is left to the older viewers and for the kids, when they're grown, to say "Holy crap that's dark, I never noticed that!" This is one of the reasons why Adventure Time means so much to me; history and implied darkness.

Ever noticed how truly frightening the Lich was? Especially when he took Billy's skin, killed Prismo, and even trapped in crystal, managed to cause a cosmic catastrophe and kill timeless crystal guardians never before challenged, much less hurt and destroyed. There's some heavy stuff in Adventure Time, you just have to be able to catch it, which usually means you need to be a little older and more attuned to much heavier subject matter such as war, death, and real evil. As a kid, things are much simpler (hence why Finn doesn't see these things at first, but as he ages, he starts to deal with them). Adventure Time could be equally an adult and kids' show if only adults didn't pass it by for it being a cartoon and all the comedy it keeps outside the more story-heavy episodes. I try to keep to the Adventure Time darkness with my own writing, but I ultimately delve a little further into the really dark stuff. Thus the last six chapters which, as I've said, I still haven't recovered from.

Also, it should be obvious why I named this chapter 'When the World Died', and why its alternate title is 'I Still Remember You'. To a little boy, the Great Mushroom War probably did seem like the death of the world, and the alternate title has 'still' added into it because this is after 'I Remember You' actually happened. The song was already made, but Marshall is looking back again and thus expanding on the scene of Simon and Marcy in the episode, but instead with himself and Symone.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven & Twelve: Night of Noise P1 & P2**

**(Alternate Title: Night of Silence)**

_Plotline P1: Marshall Lee is the MC this year of the annual 'Night of Noise' that has been going on for nearly a thousand years, since the re-emergence of civilization after the Great Mushroom War. With a heavy-rock rendition of the night's age-old madrigal introduction, the celebration begins and the music goes on without stop til midnight, when Fionna takes the stage and the crowd's cheers die down. She uses her wind flute to summon a show of mist creatures lit by Gumball's colored spotlights, followed by a mist dragon which flies for the rest of the night. Afterward, Fionna and Marshall sit down to eat while the music continues, and they end up talking about how Cake would kill them if she saw them on a 'date'. Eventually they turn to talk of Flint (or, really just Marshall Lee teasing Fionna about her obvious like for him). When Fionna asks Marshall's opinion on whether or not she and Flint could work as a couple, Marshall of course insists that Flint is dangerous, but Fionna reminds him that he is too. Marshall Lee finally tells her that it could work as she almost seems to be asking his permission, and Fionna hurries off to talk to Flint up on the walls. Marshall isn't sure how he feels about the whole thing, and about Fionna, and he wonders why he didn't just tell her that._

_Plotline P2: Fionna comes to talk to Flint up on the walls, and when she mentions the idea of seeing someone, Flint is sure she means Prince Gumball. When she outright asks him to have dinner as a date, he is absolutely honored to accept. Meanwhile, Marshall Lee leaves his MC position to Gumball to be alone, retreating to the candy tree above Gumball's palace. He sings to himself what's really on his mind and in his heart, only to feel worse than ever, and he goes home to be alone with his thoughts. The Night of Noise ends at sunrise with the traditional song, 'The New Land of Aaa'._

I'll outright tell you that, with 'Just Like Me' in third place and 'Night of Noise' in second, 'The New Land of Aaa' is my favorite original song of this season and second overall to 'I Remember You'. I have it recorded really cheaply so I can refine it later on my mandolin and bass guitar. 'Night of Noise', being the intro song in part one of these two, was inspired by Marilyn Manson singing 'This is Halloween' from The Nightmare Before Christmas and sounds slightly similar now that I think about it. The original madrigal version was inspired by, and this is stupid, 'Brave Sir Robin' from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but the actual tune is still from 'This is Halloween'.

Now, as for the wind flute, I introduced it specifically for its use here and for musical bonding between Marshall and Fionna. I might break it later for fun, but I do know that, and this is foreshadowing, the mist dragon did **_not_** evaporate at sunrise. It's still out there… teehee. For a special reason… oooh, mysterious! The feels in this chapter are all for setting up Fionna and Flint's relationship, which didn't really get too serious this season but probably will in the next, and to set up Marshall's feelings and jealousy and even a little bit of envy of the two having a good relationship when he never had one. Poor Marshall, Fionna didn't even notice, she was too wrapped up in thoughts of Flint.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Mommy**

_Plotline: After exploring his memories, Marshall readies his newly-strung guitar for Fionna to come over for their first jam session since the Night of Noise, to which she brings her flute. Without the usual teasing, Marshall asks Fionna to help him play something more personal. Fionna gives him a beat while recording on her Walkman, and Marshall sings, despite pain, of his real thoughts about his mother. Afterward, Fionna insists that Marshall should talk to his mother, but he absolutely refuses until Helen Abadeer herself shows up. After a short fight brought on by Marshall's anger at her constant absence and lack of attention, Helen leaves to attend to her 'work'. After Fionna leaves later on, he only feels worse. When his thoughts are disturbed by an awful tremor he goes out to investigate, and finds his mother stealing souls from across Aaa. When Fionna and Cake come to stop her, Marshall Lee has to save them, only to be captured himself. Helen demands to know why he treats her so terribly, until they are interrupted by Marshall's song, playing from the recording on Fionna's Walkman. When Helen sets Marshall back down, she assures him that she loves him and cares deeply, that she knows that his song is about so much more than his fries that she'd eaten at an old diner hundreds of years before._

I firmly believe that you cannot properly write a series with Marshall as a main character without the addition of the songs made so popular by Olivia Olson as Marceline, and one of the most popular is the Fry Song. I spent hours listening to Rebecca Sugar's full version with a ukulele, and then the clip from the episode, and decided that I needed the full version for Marshall Lee, but still with beatboxing. What I really want is bass and beatbox from the episode, then the full version and Marshall's voice. I really wish Marsh played a bass, but hey, I can just love him and Marcy and have it all. By the way, fun fact: Did you know that Hunson Abadeer is voiced by Martin Olson, who is Olivia Olson's real father? Father and daughter voice father and daughter, and I love Pen Ward for it. Martin Olson also happens to be the writer of the Adventure Time Encyclopedia, which is written from Hunson Abadeer's point of view. Isn't that awesome? This guy sticks to character not only as Dad, but as Hunson in multiple mediums and I LOVE it.

But on to the chapter. Helen was the first name that popped into my head to be opposite of Hunson (which is a name I love), and I figured it fit because it's generally viewed as a strong female name not really used for dainty ladies anymore (like Olga and Brunhilde and Helga). Helen also (ironically) happens to be the name of the dainty lady at the center of one of my favorite stories out of Greece, the Iliad. As for Marshall and Helen's relationship, I wanted it to be a little closer and a tad less embarrassing than Hunson and Marceline because, honestly, even though Moms embarrass their kids more, I felt like Hunson was a softie kind of dad and Helen needed to be a little more solid in the face of Marshall's anger. That's why she puts on that mask when he yells at her and pretends it doesn't hurt, when really she's crying on the inside. However, she's just as loving and endearing as Hunson, and she's the kind of mom who constantly asks 'where's my grandkids?' based on a lot of really funny Tumblr art. Wow, that got unsophisticated really fast.

By the way, I'm still thrilled that Chapter Thirteen ended up being the one about the Mistress of Hell. Love it.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: The Danger (P1)**

_Plotline: Fionna is called in an emergency to the Candy Palace and discovers the sudden appearance of the Lich Queen's horn in a moon rock. After a bout with a magic-induced blackout, Fionna comes together with Flint, Marshall Lee, Cake, and Prince Gumball to figure out what the Lich is doing. They realize that she's planning to blow up the moon and thus throw the earth out of its life-supporting zone of orbit, and thus hurry to seek the advice of Helen Abadeer._

This was more of a lead-up chapter that introduced the basis of the six-chapter-long 'Season Title' series. I don't think anyone actually realized this season was called 'The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark' until these chapters. This one brought in the Lich's plans, but brought the characters to think they needed to get to the Moon, and the only way of doing that in their time without the invention of space rockets is to wish for safe passage to the Moon, which Helen directs them to do in the next chapter by seeking out Bella. Bella, by the way, is a popular name among the genderbent AT fans for Billy's female self, and I've read plenty of stories using it so I just kept on with the tradition.

I also decided to showcase the common scholar between Flint and Gumball, so I did a lot of research into the theory of what would happen if the Moon basically shattered, and what the Moon's effects on the Earth amount to. I think I did pretty alright, seeing as Earth's natural disasters are my favorite kind of science.

There's also a reason for the title and the full season title. Each name applies to two parts, and is a hint at something in the chapters. In part one, the 'danger' is the destruction of the Moon by the Lich.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: The Danger (P2)**

_Plotline: Seeking the advice of Helen Abadeer, the group is pointed to Bella while Gumball gathers help. Bella directs Flint, Cake, Fionna, and Marshall Lee to gather the jewels of the Princes' crowns, and the last is Gumball's. Fionna goes to retrieve it, only for Gumball to refuse. At the last moment, she steals it before Gumball can tell her why it's a mistake. The nine crown jewels are inserted into the opened front of the Enchiridion kept by Bella, sealing into a stone. Bella is revealed to be the Lich Queen wearing Bella's skin, and when Fionna breaks the Enchiridion turned to stone, thinking it'll ruin the Lich's plans, she instead ends up opening a portal to the Time Room of Prismo the Wish-Master. Therein, the Lich wishes for the extinction of all life everywhere, leaving the group horrified until Fionna makes a counter-wish that the Lich had never existed._

It was really tough for me to set up a believable way for Bella to get the group to gather the jewels and for Gumball to resist despite knowing what that Fionna wanted his jewel to fight the Lich. I figured that the royals entrusted with the jewels probably all knew that they could be used to open the portal made by the Enchiridion (Bubblegum clearly knew), so it gave me grounds for Gumball to realize that Fionna was being tricked and to resist. But I didn't quite have him slice her face open like Bubblegum did to Finn in 'The Lich'.

Anyhow, I always really like the idea of the Lich wearing Billy/Bella's skin. It was probably one of the most macabre and terrifying things that the AT crew have ever done (next to Marshall Lee's fake near-death in 'Bad Little Boy' because I'm a fangirling NERD). The reason I took so many people to the Time Room wasn't just to create more content, it was to explore what each one would do faced with the fate of all life, and each of the following chapters show their reactions. Fionna tries to cut off the evil at the source and ends up giving up her own life and sanity, Flint tries to save Fionna from herself but his hasty temper causes him to choose unwisely and everyone suffers, and Marshall Lee decides that it's his responsibility now that others have failed and he sacrifices himself for the greater good.

Now, there's a reason that I specifically stated that Cake faced mental challenges in 'Dungeon of Doors' P2, and her decision in Prismo's Time Room is exactly why. Gumball wants to make the right wish to defeat the Lich without sacrificing anyone but doesn't know how to go about it. So, Cake deduces that she can wish to know what will do this, and therefore Prismo tells them exactly how in Part Six after Marshall Lee's failure. I've always seen that Cake is very different from Jake, far more protective and more attentive to what others need. Not to diss Jake (he comes through when it's important), but he gets distracted too easily by everything. And sandwiches.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: The Duo (P3)**

_Plotline: Fionna Mertens is an average tomboy and a farmer's daughter in the countryside beyond Junktown. When faced with the hard decision to sell her favorite mule, she ends up falling into a cavern on the journey and finds a golden crown. Thinking all her problems are solved, she tries to take it but is confronted by a thousand-year old half-demon named Marshall Lee who tells her that the crown is evil and cannot move from the skeleton of its previous owner, Symone Petrikov. Fionna manages to steal the crown and hurries to the market. The Destiny Gang who terrorize the area steal the crown and her mule, but when Fionna goes to get them back, the Gang razes the town and surrounding area. Fionna hurries home to find her house in flames and, trusting the words of Marshall Lee that the stolen artifact has ice magic, she finally dons the crown._

Farmworld interested me at first because it was an alternate timeline, but then again because it resulted in Finn basically becoming the beginnings of the Ice Prince. Which, I noticed, somehow became a popular character… not the crazy weird one in 'Finn the Human' and 'Jake the Dog', though.

Honestly, I think I wrote this chapter more in a tip of the hat to the actual show than anything, and I don't have much to say about it because I was forced to stick to the script pretty closely in order to avoid going off on tangents. Probably the least fun chapter I've written thus far, but a vital one that I'm glad I finished.

The single 'duo' here was Symone and Marshall Lee because, literally, they are the center of all that happens via the crown, even if they aren't present for most of it.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: The Duo (P4)**

_Plotline: After Flint's wish that Fionna's wish had never come true, this in turn causes the Lich Queen's wish to come true, thus destroying the moon and throwing the Earth out of orbit. The group splits off their own ways after their last goodbyes, thus leaving Marshall Lee with Symone, Fionna with Flint, Cake with Lord Monochromicorn, and Prince Gumball alone. Marshall Lee struggles to help Ice Queen become the Symone he misses, just for a moment so that he can see her one last time, but it is only after he finally passes that she comes back. Flint and Fionna take shelter in the treehouse, and even though Flint is the one more harshly affected by the growing cold, they both pass nearly at the same time in one another's arms. Cake and Monochromicorn do all they can to help their children survive, but to no avail. In the end, the very last person left alive in Aaa is Prince Gumball, who struggled to write down every memory of all his friends that he could on the off chance that one day, life would return to the planet and find the stories._

It's no secret that this, tied for first with Part Six, is probably the saddest chapter in the whole season. I got a few reviews about some sadness, but the biggest feedback I got was a friend of mine who read this, called me at midnight, and proceeded to sob on the phone because she's as much of a nerd as I am. I killed everyone, but I liked it because I'm sadistic, and I hated it because I love the characters. I quite likely love the genderbent characters more than the originals, because, yet again, NERD.

The idea for the destruction of the moon actually came of a question raised to me by the same friend who called me in tears. We were talking about how her father used to work on a carrier ship in the Navy and how he continued sailing his own small boat after he was done with the Navy. She talked about how his boat got stranded on a shoreline because the tide fell, and she asked why that happened. I explained the whole magnetic pull of the sun and moon thing, then she asked what would happen if there was no moon. I looked that up, and ding! Story idea. And she blames _me_ for this chapter.

As for the way they all died, I didn't go into detail about Cake and Monochromicorn because I couldn't bring myself to detail the deaths of the kittens. Let's just assume they all froze and leave it at that. As for Marshall Lee, even the Vampire King can't withstand cold like that. His organs and brain would eventually freeze and he'd be done for. Fionna and Flint, pretty much the same, though I think Flint held on longer for Fionna's sake. The Ice Queen's death was a little harder for me because, not only do I love Symone, I also had to capture the fact that Ice Queen wasn't just dying of cold too extreme even for the crown, she was dying of heartbreak once her memories truly returned.

Lastly, Gumball… his death, even if he's not as high on my favorite characters list as Marsh and Fi, was probably the most painful. He held out hope to his last moment that, even if they were all gone, some life, even coming from another planet, would be able to find his memories and know that there once existed a group of dear friends who did amazing things together, a story that he hoped would be kept and retold by the future people. If anyone believed in the phrase 'life finds a way', it was Prince Gumball. Even if the Lich did destroy all life in the multiverse, there's no saying that it couldn't sprout from somewhere else again on another Earth-like planet, or on the Earth itself if it ever got a moon back again. Hope was all he had, and he never lost it even when he was the last one left and slowly fading.

Ugh, my heart… By the way, the 'duo' here was not just one pair, it was every single pair that split off, and, here comes the cheesy part, the star duo was not any actual pair of people. It was Gumball and his memories that he recorded in hopes of being found one day. Excuse me while I go sob before I continue this.

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: The Dance in the Dark (P5)**

_Plotline: In the timeline of Marshall Lee's wish for the power to destroy the Lich, Marshall Lee Abadeer was lost in the mortal world and didn't see his mother again for centuries. When he finally did, he took her power from her, and killed her. He waged war on the land of Aaa for fun, until Prince Gumball launched an allied offensive against him and called out his finest heroine, Fionna the Human. Marshall Lee is very intrigued by this girl and captures her with the intent to make her his own champion warrior. When he realizes that it's impossible to sway her with torture, he instead treats her like a guest. This ultimately leads not to a relationship of champion and master, but to a friendship Marshall hasn't ever experienced. When Fionna is captured by an enemy demon, Marshall comes to save her only to be shocked by an electrified cage and thus, taken home by Fionna. Fionna leaves him to sleep while she wonders why he cares so much. Imagining what her sister's answer would be, she immediately turns red and hides with her pillow._

This chapter is as much of a story set-up chapter as Part One of the Season Title series. It was hard to write because I had to consider that Marshall is a much darker guy without Fionna around, and if he became Lord of the Nightosphere, he probably also became a little more like Hunson Abadeer, being an eloquent and sharp businessman in a demonic sort of way. I still wanted to keep him Marshall, so it was hard to find a good balance. As for the 'Beauty and the Beast' theme, yes, I totally meant to do that on purpose because it fits them so well.

The title 'The Dance in the Dark' is a sort of foreshadowing of the next chapter, but it isn't a dance at all, it's the battle with the Lich Queen which ends in her demise but also Marshall's.

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: The Dance in the Dark (P6 Finale)**

_Plotline: Marshall Lee opens up to Fionna and vice versa as their friendship grows and they begin to adventure together amid their music sessions. He tells her about his relationship with his mother and how she died, and he is stunned when she doesn't recoil and call him a monster. He knows then and there that she's what he wants. Later as a proper couple, they experience their first real fight that boils down to Marshall's 'perfectionism' and Fionna's 'undiscerning' ways. Things go a little too far and each hurts the other, but all is repaired when Fionna returns to Marshall Lee later on. Years down the road, they marry without fanfare and have a daughter named Jessie, and when Jessie is ten years old and the family lives in the treehouse again whilst Marshall's second-in-command tends the Nightosphere, Fionna and Marshall are called to help King Gumball to fend off the newly-risen Lich Queen. Marshall races to the fight and pulls Gumball and his family to safety while Fionna secures Jessie and her cousins. Before Fionna can even arrive, Marshall locks in combat with the Lich. When the Lich Queen finally sees Fionna and throws her in a bone-breaking strike against the wall, Marshall loses his control and destroys the Lich's skull, but ends up run through by a powerful magical blade. Fionna hurries to his side and manages to speak with her beloved husband one last time before the magic takes him away. In Prismo's time room, Gumball and Cake are the last two left and don't know what to do, so Cake wishes to know what to wish for, thus Gumball can use that knowledge to sort things out. He wishes that the Lich wished for them all to be safely in the Candy Kingdom, and once Prismo grants that request and they find themselves back home, the group destroys the Lich for what seems like once and for all. It would have been, if not for a little snail._

Not only was this chapter heartbreaking, it was also fun because I got to bring in Jessie and kick the Lich's butt twice. Also, I wanted to detail the fact that Fionna and Marshall aren't much for pomp and circumstance, hence why they never had a real wedding, they just made it official by legal means. They probably threw a party, but no wedding. I wanted to go into Marshall's fatherhood a little more, but I decided to leave that alone for now. I may write a separate fanfiction of it, or it may end up much later in the series if people want it.

I got a question from several people: why isn't Prismo genderbent? Well, it's because Aaa is in a universe and Ooo is in a universe, which are connected by the multiverse. They're parallels of one another, but not exact. Fionna got a flash of Finn and Jake in part two, and, unmentioned, again in part six. It's also why, back in 'Dungeon of Doors P2', Fionna was faced with a line of statues that included 'strangers' who looked familiar, but she didn't know them. Those strangers were Finn, Jake, and Marceline among others. She even notices how similar Marceline looks to Marshall.

Overall, part six essentially cancels out all the previous parts because of Gumball's wish, which even though it's nice to know the characters won't freeze to death, go insane, or grieve forever over Marsh, doesn't take away all the sting for me personally. I'm still sad as hell.

Oh, and fun fact: 'The Dance in the Dark' was originally supposed to pertain to a literal dance in the dark at the castle in the Nightosphere, but I thought if I did that, I'd be playing too heavily on the 'Beauty and the Beast' idea.

* * *

**The End of Season One**

_The Chronicles of Aaa: The Danger, the Duo, and the Dance in the Dark_

I've enjoyed this season immensely and I'm already super pumped to be working on Season Two for your guys. I've loved the feedback and all the love and support you guys have offered, and I hope to see all of your reviews again in Season Two, which I will link to on the next chapter page when its first chapter is ready. Thanks so much guys! On to the fandom!

* * *

**_Coming Soon: Season Two_**

**_Title TBA_**

_-Taiylor Wallace_


	21. An Update

p style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongTo my Awesome Followers Readers/strong/span/p  
p style="text-align: center;"emfrom Taiylor:/em/p  
p style="text-align: center;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"Hey, guys, sorry about the long wait for Season Two. I'm finally out of my summer job and I'm heading back up to college next weekend, so I intend to have the first chapter of S2 up by that Saturday or Sunday at the latest. Thanks so much for sticking with me. I'm still here and still ready to entertain, so don't give up on me just yet. I'll be posting a chapter with a link to Season Two as soon as it's up./p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"Cheers!/p  
p style="text-align: left;"-Taiylor Wallace/p 


	22. Another Update (Almost There)

Hey, ya'll, it's Taiylor. Sorry Season Two hasn't gotten up yet. I intended to post it when I got to college, but things got super hectic and I've had no writerly energy lately. It'll be up ASAP. I'm settling in now so I'm figuring out my best times when I can write fairly well without interruption.

Thanks for your patience!

-T.W.


	23. SEASON TWO IS UP!

p style="text-align: center;"emstrongHOLY WHOA GUYS IT'S FINALLY UP!/strong/em/p  
p style="text-align: center;" /p  
p style="text-align: center;"Told you I'd do it. Eventually. I really hope you enjoy it. The intro is up along with chapter one, 'Abadeer Hall P1'. I'm not gonna ramble too much, I just hope you guys understand that I had to put this off for the sake of college and homework, but now I've got everything balanced!/p  
p style="text-align: center;"Enjoy!/p  
p style="text-align: center;"a href=" s/10674410/1/Adventure-Time-The-Chronicles-of-Aaa-Season-2"strongemAdventure Time: The Chronicles of Aaa/em/strong/a/p  
p style="text-align: center;"a href=" s/10674410/1/Adventure-Time-The-Chronicles-of-Aaa-Season-2"strongemSeason Two: Fight or Flight/em/strong/a/p  
p style="text-align: center;"a href=" s/10674410/1/Adventure-Time-The-Chronicles-of-Aaa-Season-2"By Taiylor Wallace/a/p 


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